Mercedes is preparing a number of important technical updates ahead of the Australian round of the championship in an attempt to close the gap with the leaders. Mark Hughes, an expert on the championship’s official website, believes a completely redesigned rear wing will appear on the W13.
Mercedes believes in the potential inherent in the car’s design and hopes that from the podium in Australia they will start to use the W13’s capabilities more fully – thanks to the first steps aimed at modernizing it. While we are talking about some temporary measures that will only make the manifestations of aerodynamic problems less obvious, as a more thorough solution has not yet been found.
The Mercedes car is clearly prone to destabilization at high speeds, making it necessary to apply aerodynamic settings very different from those preferred by the team while working on the simulator.
This affected the configuration of the rear wing, which had to deploy. The problem of destabilization of the car results in less downforce being generated under the floor than calculations showed, and the only way to reduce the effect of the buildup is to increase the ride height.
But this method is very inefficient, because it simply leads to a decrease in downforce, while the air resistance remains almost at the same level and in some cases even increases. A more correct method is to put a slightly different rear wing on the car, which would generate less downforce, but Mercedes simply didn’t have that.
With limited budgets, the teams have become more careful in their approach to upgrading the car and try not to spend money on the production of unnecessary components. Therefore, Brackley has not prepared a “lightweight” version of the rear wing for the first two phases of the season: Mercedes simply did not foresee that it might be necessary.
Although the wing of the W13 in Jeddah was already designed for lower downforce than that used in Bahrain, the team was working on a different version, but that was only in the production phase. It is this grand piano that should debut in Melbourne; the main plane is expected to be noticeably smaller than the previous version.
Although the Albert Park circuit used to require a higher level of pressure, this year the configuration has changed and the 9-10 corner chicanes are no longer there, but has been replaced by a fast section that must be passed at full throttle, meaning it in Albert Park it will be possible to adapt the aerodynamic body kit for less downforce.
Mercedes hopes that the configuration of their car for next weekend will better suit the characteristics of the circuit than in Saudi Arabia. However, this does not solve the W13’s problem of destabilization – this requires a complete redesign of the bottom.
On average, the Mercedes racers in qualifying were about 0.7 seconds less than the pole time in the first two stages of the season. While it is hoped they will be able to improve in Melbourne, it will only be a step in the right direction as the team continues to look for a more thorough and comprehensive solution to the speed shortage.
Source: F1 News
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