Disengage with the utmost care and commitment to take refuge in the dream, with the confidence that sooner or later things could get better, perhaps also thanks to good luck. But by bending over on yourself you run the risk of missing the stroke of luck. And in these cases, waiting for the punishment to fade is far less painful than finding yourself witnessing yet another failure. Mercedes she was forced to live in this condition because her dominion was abruptly interrupted. She was Red Bull to put an end to the German empire, which in fact promptly collapsed at the gates of the dated regulatory revolution 2022.
Almost two and a half years have passed since that moment. Things haven’t changed much: Red Bull continues to win, while Mercedes, although he works hard to get back to the top, he collides with a mocking and unwanted reality. The yearning nourished with fervor remains only one: win again. But to do this there are still several steps to take. This keeping in mind that, for the third consecutive time in the era of wing carthe forged single-seater a Brackley turns out to be imperfect. During the planning phase there was a lot of confidence in the work done, where the hope of being able to fight for the title or at least have the possibility accompanied the enthusiasm. Unfortunately this was not the case.
Even before hitting the asphalt during the pre-season tests, the alarm had already gone off. Responsible was the new push-rod rear suspension which, during the tests on the “seven post rig”, a dynamic bench through which the technicians can simulate the progress of the car on the asphalt, with roughness of the reference plane and angles of camber, showed considerable problems. The confirmation that something wasn’t working came shortly after, once we got out on track Bahrain. A hard blow, yet another, which put the reactivity of Mercedes. However, the working group did not give up and finally, 4 months later, the results of the efforts made are evident, they seem concrete and promise competitiveness.
F1, Mercedes: Canada must be judged expertly
After the introduction, there are still a couple of technical considerations to examine. Mercedes showed various difficulties in managing the load in different driving conditions. Excessive sensitivity to ground clearances has been highlighted W15which has suffered the compromises of setup when the track required precise adjustments to obtain optimal performance on different types of curves. During the phases of cornering, the performance was not always up to par, complicating the “construction” of the tour. Tire management was also not optimal, with a trend to overheating to the rear axle which often manifested itself during i long runs with large quantities of fuel on board.
We are talking about an aspect that enormously complicated the management of the car during the races. It limited performance and, as often happens in these cases, pushed pilots to try solutions setup several which, in reality, only made things worse. Added to this are the problems related to power unit, which in some races suffered a weakening due to the internal temperatures of the components being out of control. An aspect that reduced the performance of the forged engine a Brixworth compared to what is potentially achievable. Nonetheless, if there is something that Mercedes has taught us in the recent past, is the ability to react promptly.
In a relatively short time, the team driven by Toto Wolff has worked compactly and through a series of targeted updates has progressively improved the W15. An accurate job, as they say in these cases, which first of all gave balance to the aerodynamic platform. Numerous test in the field they confirmed this progress. TO Montreal we had proof of it. The time spent on the island of Notre Dame he showed us one Mercedes vying for victory. Russell he got the pole position and, without the mistakes made, the possibility of fighting for victory was within reach. A competitive context that has certainly benefited the teamas also confirmed by the former coach of the red team James Allison.
Several aspects went well on Canadian soil. We talk about low temperatures, slippery asphalt and, in general, changing weather conditions. There W15 manages to activate the compounds easily in these conditions, a distinctive trait that has allowed optimal use of the tyres. Consequently, the two Mercedes they had no difficulty keeping the covers in the correct operating window. The exact opposite of what happened to Ferrari, which suffered quite a bit throughout the weekend on this front. Furthermore, the Canadian Grand Prix offered a further advantage to German cars, thanks to an important specific weight during the weekend.
F1, Mercedes controls expectations for Spain
Allison he set the record straight. The British coach certainly didn’t deny the inherent merit of the team’s performances Mercedes. However, he wanted to highlight an important point: the current balance in F1 is extremely delicate. For this reason every detail makes the difference, especially when it comes to setup. The circuit of Montreal it features well-defined curves, mainly medium or medium-low speed chicanes. The lack of supported, fast and high-speed curves means that the technical compromise relating to set-up it is more easily manageable. A scenario which, together with the variable weather, has significantly increased the competitiveness of the W15.
It was therefore possible to take full advantage of the car’s characteristics. For this reason, the technical manager of the award-winning team warns fans who are too enthusiastic. He does it thinking about Spainwhere the circuit of Montmelo waits to put them to the test W15. A sort of open-air wind tunnel that includes all types of curves possible. In this context, the compromise between aerodynamics and mechanics will be crucial and only the single-seaters capable of best balancing all aspects will be able to achieve good performance. Mercedes respects the Catalan circuit a lot, which represents an important test bed to confirm the effectiveness of the recent ones update.
Updates will continue to roll out to the black-inlaid gray arrows, as several situations have not yet been resolved. In Spain a new modified bottom will be presented, a macro component of the car especially revised in its lower part, where the channels Venturi they collect and accelerate the air flows and then “direct” them “shoot” them towards the diffuser. This creates a “suction” effect that keeps the car glued to the ground, determining the quantity and quality of downforce produced. It will be a crucial head for Mercedessince he will tell us if, how Ferrari And McLarenthe W15 will be able to compete for the title of best with the Red Bull.
