Mercedes shows up in the seventh round world champion of F1 with the second part of the update package that had been ported to You love me. In Florida The upgrades they worked, or perhaps it would be better to argue that the load values expressed by the fund gave the feedback the technicians were looking for. However the problems remain with an essentially inconsistent car. A balance that is achieved with many difficulties, because the operational window of the car is very narrow. At the rear the downforce is not bad, but what is missing is the consistency of the vertical thrust in the various types of corners.
Hence the inconsistency that even the riders complain about as they are unable to find a constant pace throughout the session. These problems, consequently, also have various consequences for the Mercedes. The rear of the W15 it slides more and a lot of friction is generated on the tire which consequently often goes in overheating. At the front, however, there seems to be the opposite problem, that is, the standard bearers of the black and gray cars are unable to generate enough grip and therefore the correct temperature to enter inside the tyre.
A thermal imbalance is therefore created between the two axes which only worsens the condition performance from the car. Yes, because in terms of pure performance, net of tire managementthe W15 it would be significantly closer to the direct ones competitor. The second part of the updates coming in Italyas he said Wolff, It aims precisely to stabilize the rear more. In the Grand Prizes Of F1 disputed up to now, the team Of Brackely tried to solve this problem regarding handling with the setupbut unfortunately there was no way to achieve a clear turning point in these first seasonal events.
On the F1 circuit of Emilia Romagna which stands on the banks of the Santerno river, should feature the debut of a new rear wing specification, combined with a new beam wing. Mercedes it therefore tries to stabilize the load on the rear in various driving conditions. Fundamental element for widening the single-seater’s development window and being able to access maximum performance both in qualifying but above all in the race. Test and comparative tests will be staged to validate the innovations which could also extend to other parts of the car.
F1, Mercedes must make the tires work in Imola
The circuit of Imola it does not present a large distinction in the types of curves, therefore the compromise to be found between aerodynamics and mechanics is less difficult. However, the medium speed bends dominate, with several sections where a lot of mechanical grip is needed, especially when exiting. At low speeds Mercedes he has struggled quite a bit in the last few races, especially due to poor management of the compounds. From a purely mechanical point of view regarding the developments, it is not yet clear whether some interventions will be present. To be fast in the medium speed you need an excellent interaction between mechanics and aerodynamics.
From what we have seen, the W15 struggles a lot when you have to soften the suspension elements to find grip mechanical, but at the same time you need to generate load with a very stable and solid platform. Often the W15 is not able to find the right compromise between these two important factors in the F1 current. Therefore, over the next weekend, drivers and technicians will aim to find mechanical grip while limiting losses during acceleration. However, greatly softening the rear axle can cause serious difficulty for the front axle which is deprived of a certain amount of grip.
As mentioned previously, considering the characteristics of the Imola track, basically the front end from the F1 hard to warm up. If what’s more, a car like the Mercedes shows problems in introducing temperature into the carcass of the front tires, so the usual problems will be solved over the weekend. If the updates actually improve the grip lateral to the rear, the German single-seaters would have a good base from which to start. On the contrary, it will once again be very difficult to achieve the compromise and therefore the optimal balance of the W15.
Authors: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz – Niccolo Arnerich – @niccoloarnerich
Images: Mercedes AMG F1 Team
