I find it interesting that before the car has seen any road surface the drivers say it feels good in the sim so we have a good car. This surely based on the data that was generated from the computer systems that told the designers it would be good. i.e the design models predict a certain characteristic, the wind tunnel model predicts it will be good etc. Just look at the zero pod concept - their models thought that would be good!!! They can't correlate the new design, the models and the sim until the car has hit the track, can they? That said I do hope it's a good car this year and we can have some racing at the front.
I too really do hope that the Mercedes W15 is a good competitive car and we can have some entertainment instead of dominant teams winning easily every race. Good point about the zero pod concept, they wouldn`t have built it if the computer data had shown it to be a dud.
They're either confident that they have built a rocket ship, or they are confident they have built another dud and are padding the severance package.
It's probably wishful thinking on my part but I'm hoping after the last 2 seasons starting with the zero pod concept this year they have implemented what they learned. Hopefully they have positioned the drivers more rearwards and have a decent full car aero package designed as a whole concept and not trying to modify a mistake.
please log in to view this image Mercedes are the latest to show their 2024 car with a shakedown run at Silverstone.
Well it certainly looks a lot more conventional than what was launched in 2013, and while still likely light years behind RBR, hopefully it gives them a platform to truly find some gains with, and hopefully challenge for a few wins. Love the combination of the silver and black. Reminiscent of some of the old McLarens.
Everyone landing on what's believed to be the optimal way to go was always going to happen. I do miss the days when the cars we're significantly different. That's just never going to happen anymore.
You can see from this view just what a striking change this car is from last year. I will watch them with a close eye in testing- it’s a lot to learn but it certainly looks aggressive from Merc.
Sometimes the way a car looks is enough to get a feel about it, and this one feels pretty tidy. Guess we'll find out soon.
the inly positives I take out of these shots is maybe we will finally learn which engine is best considering they are all in the same ****ing car.
The only other thing that I can think of is that the floor can`t be seen ,so the Red Bull won`t be copied by other teams easily. So along with variations in engine power to maybe give a team an edge, is if one of them hit off on a super quick ground effect floor.
Aero analysis by a guy who was an aerodynamicist for Mercedes F1 for a few years and is now a freelance aero consultant in a range of race series... He's also done an analysis on the Ferrari. I've posted the link in the Ferrari thread.
Everyone has to engineer within a very tight set of parameters now. There's only so far things can go within a set of regs before it's basically a spec series. Then the regs change again and we play musical chairs
there's some hope this car can replicate the red bull but the key is not just aero. it is how the car interacts with the downforce as it piles on. if the suspension gives them a chuckable car and the drag is not too bad I think they can get close. if the car is unstable and won't handle bumps then nobody gets close.
