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Showing posts with label Michael Schumacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Schumacher. Show all posts
16 Sept 2012
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Eddie Jordan threw Silly Season into full swing by announcing he was privy to information relating to Lewis Hamilton making a move to Mercedes. However this rumour alone has not the only impacted Lewis Hamilton, McLaren & Mercedes but it will form the lynch pin in the whole driver market.

Red Bull shrewdly moved earlier in the season to resign Mark Webber for another season and with Sebastian Vettel already on board until the end of 2014 the team can concentrate on racing rather than PR.

Ferrari have Fernando Alonso signed until 2016 further showing his status as number one driver within the team. Meanwhile Felipe Massa's seat with Ferrari has been in doubt all season, a recent climb in form may be enough to warrant his seat for 2013 whilst Sergio Perez spends another season with Sauber. Felipe struggled to come to terms with the F2012 and Pirelli tyres at the start of the season and marked Monaco as a turning point in the season claiming that he finally understood the setup required. It could be no coincidence that Felipe's struggles could be down to Ferrari's decision to run with Front Pull Rod Suspension, with Fernando Alonso being the last driver to utilise it to his advantage in his maiden year at Minardi.

McLaren are obviously at the centre of a battle between themselves and Mercedes over procuring Lewis Hamilton's services for 2013 and beyond. Lewis signed a lucrative deal with McLaren just before the economic downturn and it's understood that McLaren are no longer in a position to fund the same or better deal. Further adding to his requirements are his image rights and the relinquishing of any trophies the driver may win. McLaren have a history of insisting on their drivers being intrinsically linked to the sponsors that McLaren have onboard these image rights alone can be worth many millions if carefully managed and so XIX Entertainment will be fighting to release these from any further contracts Lewis should sign.
Jenson Button meanwhile has already been in this position last year and easily manoeuvred his negotiations whilst also being put in the frame for Red Bull & Ferrari seats. Although the team always give the impression that they favour neither driver it could be argued over the last 2 seasons their development path has been more favourable to Jenson. Could this also be a catalyst in Lewis' thoughts about a switch to Mercedes?
I've previously written about the relationship between McLaren and Mercedes which leaves us wondering are the two working on a deal that sees both parties win in the battle for Lewis' signature? http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/could-lewis-merry-go-round-be-engine.html
Much has already been talked about the use of Mercedes global platform to catapult Lewis' image to a larger audience but I personally feel that if the negotiations are actually taking place he needs to decide if he is a racer or a celebrity.

Mercedes have Nico Rosberg signed for 2013 and beyond but with them courting both Michael Schumacher for a contract extension and Lewis Hamilton to sign on for the team could he be forced to leave the team? Using Rosberg as leverage in a multi faceted driver and engine deal / compromise could see the young German line up alongside Jenson Button for McLaren. Rosberg's driving style is not dissimilar to Jenson's and so could allow McLaren to focus their design process behind the MP4-28 solely on their more conservative attributes.
Ross Brawn has already alluded to the fact that their 2013 challenger (WO4) will be an evolution of the WO3 but has instructed the team to 'try out' things toward the end of the season in order to have a better chance throughout 2013. (They did exactly this at Spa with the own DRD http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/lotus-mercedes-drd-drag-reduction.html – and took a McLaren Style exhaust, DRD and other bodywork to the Young Drivers Test this week in Magny Cours - http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/mercedes-wo3-updates-at-young-drivers.html )
The teams DDRS system although innovative has failed to make a huge dent in a season that has seen the teams closer than ever. Meanwhile they have been lacklustre in terms of developing the WO3 and now with only 9 races left of the season although mathematically still able to contest the Championships really find themselves battling for 4th place alongside Lotus and Sauber.
Michael Schumacher's impact since his return to F1 in 2010 has been low key, however this year has shown that the old dog still has some fight left in him. Schumacher's best chance of further glory lies in the regulation changes of 2014 at which point he will be 45. So can the German convince the board in Stuttgart he can still bring them success or is this why they are moving for Hamilton? I fear without Hamilton's signature either in place of Nico or Michael the German Marque may decide to cut their losses with their own team and re-focus their F1 aims at just being an engine manufacturer.

Lotus in my opinion made a shrewd move when signing Kimi Raikonnen although he had been out of the game for 2 years Kimi had remained competitive in 4 wheel sport. The Finn brings a certain character style that neither McLaren or Ferrari truly harnessed. Kimi's goals are not driven by the celebrity limelight that some require but instead lets his racing do the talking. He is signed with the team for 2013 that may be forced to rename as their sponsorship deal with Group Lotus expires at the end of the season. I have seen Kimi mentioned by McLaren fans as someone to return to the team should Lewis move but personally I cannot see that happening.
Romain Grosjean is undoubtedly a talent having succeeded at varying levels of open wheel racing however his F1 career is always under somewhat of a cloud. Whether it's his first attempt at F1 with the Renault team after Nelson Piquet Jnr was dismissed or his current drive with Lotus. Boullier however is sticking by Romain and although his contract expires at the end of the season I expect he'll remain with the team for 2013.

Sauber are a team on the up, typically Swiss they always seem to be the most neutral of all the F1 teams. However behind close doors they work away on relationships that allow them to keep a foothold in the sport. The use of Sergio Perez who is part of the Ferrari Academy allows the team to create a partnership with Ferrari who also supply their engines, KERS and drivetrain. Notably Checo has been able to use the Pirelli tyres to his advantage throughout 2012 bringing him to the attention of some of the top teams. As part of the Ferrari Academy Checo will undoubtedly have his career manipulated by the Ferrari team whilst Checo joins a long line of drivers drawn into the Hamilton to Mercedes battle as the Daily Mail today infer that McLaren are interested in the Mexican. Meanwhile Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has said that Checo is not yet ready to join Ferrari and so the temptation of a top seat with McLaren could test his mettle if offered a contract. The largest stumbling block I forsee in a move for Checo to McLaren are his ties to Telmex. Although Telmex are largely a South American concern any deals he currently has with the brand would eliminate him McLaren's radars due to their own involvement with Vodafone. As we can see from the C31 the Mexican's sponsorship is displayed on virtually every corner of the car (Telmex, Claro, Visit Mexico) with the Billionaire Russian Abromovich fronting the rest with his Chelsea logo's.
For a team like Sauber that relies heavily on funding from outside sources Checo must remain a driver for the team to continue in F1.
Kamui Kobayshi is a driver that will have warmed most people's hearts when he burst onto the scene with Toyota at Interlagos in 2009. He famously took on Jenson Button who needed to finish well at Interlagos to secure the 2009 Championship. Although Kamui has scored more points already this season than that of 2011, he has been overshadowed by Checo and I'd imagine like many others is struggling with the Pirelli rubber. Kamui is a solid driver and I see no reason for him to be replaced unless the cash strapped Sauber outfit do indeed lose Checo and need to balance the books with 2 sponsored drivers rather than one.

Williams acquired the services of the Venezulean driver Pastor Maldonado for 2011 and retained his services for 2012. I was recently at Williams for the FOTA forum where Sir Frank Williams lauded his driver for his dedication and skill set. I see no reason why Williams would want to replace Pastor as he brings plenty of money to the team and previously had success in GP2 with the Rapax Team.
Bruno Senna joined Williams having previously had arduous seasons behind the wheel of the HRT (2010) and replaced Nick Heidfeld for the end of the 2011 season for Renault. The Brazilian brings his own array of sponsors to the table for Williams and although going almost unsung hasn't had a dissimilar season to Pastor. Rumours are abound that he will be replaced for next season, however unless a driver of much higher talent or one that can bring much more money were to be available I see no reason for him to depart.

Force India have both of their drivers contracted for the 2013 season but have already stated they won't stand in the way of either making moves to higher teams. Both Di Resta and Hulkenberg have been linked with Felipe Massa's Ferrari seat and as possible replacements should Michael Schumacher decide to retire once more. Di Resta has more recently been linked as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton at McLaren should the latter make a switch to Mercedes. This may be fuelled by Di Resta's new management who also looks after Jenson Button.

Toro Rosso have already proven that their driver programme comes first when they ejected both Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguesuari from the 2012 plans. The Red Bull brand use the Toro Rosso team as a platform to find new talent for their senior team with Sebastian Vettel being the benchmark. Daniel Ricciardo jumped the queue during 2011 by being place with HRT in order to access his abilities in advance. With neither Ricciardo or Vergne showing the type of pace that Vettel did in his Toro Rosso days it will be a surprise to no-one if the team start with a fresh line up next season. This will leave the current drivers looking for drives in 2013.

Caterham have had the services of Heikki Kovaleinen throughout their various guises over the last 3 years. It does however seem that Heikki is done with his share of trying to help the team elevate through the grid and rumours have linked him to both Sauber and the seat potentially being vacated by Lewis Hamilton. Heikki has already been part of the McLaren team once in his career and so McLaren and/or himself may be reluctant to revisit the partnership. Vitaly Petrov found his way to a Caterham seat after a lacklustre performance for the Renault team. I've heard rumour that some of his sponsors are becoming disillusioned by his and Caterham's performances and may withdraw their support at the end of the year. I personally never understood why the Russian didn't find his way to a Marussia seat in the first place but he looks destined for there should the rumours hold firm.

Marussia may well be a further force throughout 2013 with their technical partnership with McLaren bearing fruit. The team have also announced they will run KERS for the first time during 2013 which will give them a much needed boost in order to chase the teams in front. Timo Glock is the lynch pin in the Marussia team and is signed on a multi year contract, however Charles Pic is rumoured to be unhappy and reports have him linked to Caterham, Force India and Sauber for 2013 drives.  Marussia could well place Max Chilton in the second seat in place of Pic (Thanks to @MarussiaF1Will for his fan perspective)

HRT the team if they are wanting to progress surely need to recruit some young talent in order to inject both life and money into the team. However De La Rosa's Spanish connection and years of technical experience inside McLaren may well see him keep his seat.  Both Dani Clos and Ma Qing Hua have connections with the HRT team and could see their way to at least one of the seats.  Meanwhile Antonio Liuzzi still has some connections to the team and could take up one of the seats again. (Thanks to @Lundo888 for an insight who is a HRT fan)

On the fringes – There are plenty of drivers out there that still either warrant a seat or warrant a shot at one but the most likely candidates would be:

Adrian Sutil – Was dispatched by the Force India team but has been touted to be talking to quite a few teams including Ferrari and a return to Force India
Jaime Alguesuari – Toro Rosso driver for 09-11 and currently keeping himself busy with the Pirelli test drivers role.
Lucas Di Grassi – Ex Virgin Racing driver and the previous Pirelli driver has now aligned himself with a test role with FormulaE (See my article on Formula E here - http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/formula-e-future-of-motorsport.html )
Karun Chandhok – Ex HRT and test driver for Team Lotus in 11 Karun never really had the opportunity to show the talent he may have.
Jerome D'Ambrosio – Currently a reserve driver at Lotus and drove at Monza in place of the banned Grosjean
Sebastien Buemi – Currently a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing
Rubens Barrichello – Still wants a seat in F1 and could prove an asset to one of the younger teams.
The list of drivers that could/should step up from Feeder series like GP2/3 is huge but as Will Buxton mentioned in his recent article (http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/poisoning-the-well-f1s-underlying-problem/ ) the problem with this no longer just lies in the expectations of quality.

Lewis Hamilton holds the key to a driver market that will unravel when he puts pen to paper and why shouldn't he hold all the cards? Afterall he is a once in a generation driver who transcended the need to start his F1 career at a lower tier team and won a title in his second year (He should really have clinched the title in his maiden year too, although we'll let him have that one) 
You have to wonder if his desire to win races and titles can be matched by the Mercedes team. Their only win in 3 years came at a time when almost any team from 7/8 could have won a race as they all battled over understanding the Pirelli tyres. 
Lewis' decision needs to be one made from the heart of a racer and not one from the brain of a branding house.
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12 Sept 2012
Mercedes WO3 Updates at the Young Drivers Test (Magny Cours) including Coanda Exhaust & DRD

Mercedes as I have written in the past don't tend to play follow the leader quite as well as some of the other teams.  Exhaust gas manipulation is always guaranteed to give F1 designers an aerodynamic advantage this season more than ever with the rules being restrictive in this area.

The McLaren style of exhaust has been converged on by most of the field already this system as the clear leader in terms of creating more rear downforce.  It has taken Mercedes until beyond race 12 to test their own variant having previously claimed their marginally updated WO3 was done so in order to better understand the tyres.

Ross Brawn had this to say: "We think that's quite significant in low speed traction," he said. "The effect of the exhaust is more significant at lower speeds than higher speeds, and also brings you the balance perhaps you need for the rear tyre."

Clearly with so many teams running this or a very similar solutions it's advantage must outweigh the neutral position the WO3's normal exhaust had been run in.  For the Mercedes fans that are used to these types of exhausts they utilise the coanda effect to draw airflow around the sidepod toward the coke bottle area, meanwhile they enhance the downwash effect over the top of the sidepods.  The net result is more airflow being drawn down to the rear of the floor which in turn will generate downforce.

Mercedes tested 2 variants of the exhaust layout yesterday, the first featured shark gills on the end of the exhaust pod which allows air from the the sidepod to vent, this will help with attachment and keep the airflow moving toward the exhaust channel.


Later in the day they tested the exhaust solution without the shark gills in the sidepod bodywork


The team also ran their version of the Lotus 'Device' that to save confusion with DDRS I decided to call DRD (Drag Reduction Device) an explanation of the device and it's first sighting at Spa can be found here:
http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/lotus-mercedes-drd-drag-reduction.html

The team opted to continue use of the cascadeless wing but used the pre Spa version which has a small turning vane on the footplate to guide air around the front wheel.



I expect to see further revisions to the WO3 over the next few days as Mercedes look to bring a plethora of parts to the car over the coming races.  If the team decide to capitalize on the success of others using this type of exhaust config they will most certainly either add the Vertical Vortex Generators that have adorned the McLaren etc for many races or look a more horizontal approach like McLaren's new Sidepod 'Wings'


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15 Aug 2012
The trouble at Mercedes

Mercedes are a company that have invested hugely in F1 over the last few years in response to buying the Championship winning Brawn GP. In terms of Mercedes interest in F1 they had for a long time aligned their selves with the McLaren team, having some of their SLR road range carrying the McLaren logo. Mercedes also owned a 40% stake in the McLaren outfit with McLaren effectively acting as their works team. Ron Dennis having moved across from the F1 team at the end of 2008 to focus on a road car project meant that the two had a conflict of interest. McLaren and Mercedes amicably agreed that McLaren would purchase back around 30% of the shares and so Mercedes found their way into owning the majority of the Brawn GP team (with only the directors of Brawn GP owning small percentage shares in the Mercedes GP team)

Brawn GP was the legacy of a hugely expensive project formerly owned by Honda who had also elected to buy the team from the well established BAR who in 1999 had bought the team from Ken Tyrell. This year (2012) is the third iteration under the Mercedes marque which as a project was supposed to bear fruit as a manufacturer in its own right rather than just be an engine manufacturer. (Just as its previous owners Honda were looking to do) The trouble is always one of transition, time and of course money. Lets look a further back down the line to see how Mercedes current struggles can also be attributed to the past and where they are going to go from here.

2009


2009 was a difficult time for the Brackley based team, on one hand they were winning races and taking the plaudits for building a fantastic car but on the other hand they were restructuring and losing staff to fall in line with the loss of Hondas money and support. 

In 2008 Honda had realized their car was a dog and switched their focus early to the RA109/BGP001 knowing a new set of regulations gave them a blank canvas on which to base their design. They also accrued some of the team that had been working within the Super Aguri team that had folded in 2008. This was believed to be pivotal in Honda's design approach for the 09 car with the Super Aguri crew rumoured to have bought the DDD concept to Ross Brawns attention (whilst others who left Super Aguri made their way to Toyota and Williams). Honda threw resources and money at the 09 contender although the Japansese marque will never be remembered for the success as Ross Brawn the man who lead the buyout had his name above the door. In fairness to Honda they didn't simply withdraw from the sport but looked for another source to continue their work and keep their employees in a Job. Several avenues were approached but eventually it was to be Ross himself who would take the the team on.

Honda continued to financially support the team well into the season with around 100 million still filtering to the team into 09. The team were unable to align themselves with a title sponsor in such a short time frame meant they attained sponsors on a race by race basis. This may not seem the most business savvy approach but can be a lucrative one if deals can done for each race. Richard Branson's Virgin brand was the one to be most associated with the team during the 09 season but again this was a case of sponsorship on a race by race basis although Branson would have had you believed otherwise (shrewd marketing on his behalf)

With the 09 season being the first in a new rule set Honda had obviously ploughed large resources into making the 09 car successful. The largest problem Brawn faced when trying to get the car to the Melbourne grid was the engine supply as Honda had no allegiances beyond their own works team they no longer had to supply anyone in F1. Ross initially went to his previous employers Ferrari but swiftly realized that integrating that engine into the car would be a monumental task. The next port of call was Mercedes at which point from the specifications it became clear fitting the Mercedes FO108W would be much easier and so began a partnership with Mercedes that would later see them become the works team. It's widely reported that although fitment of the Mercedes engine was easier than the Ferrari counterpart it still had compromises notably the CoG was raised and crank centre position was far from ideal. The team were desperate to utilize the gearbox designed in house as it's design was both light and centered around the utilisation of the DDD concept. Both Jenson and Rubens were vocal in their admiration for the Mercedes engine which was reportedly much more linear in it's power delivery giving much better driveability. The Honda engine was always well known for having a very peaky top end performance and this obviously showed when the team transitioned to the Mercedes powerplant. It remains unclear whether Honda intended to use KERS but the designs shown of the RA109 place the energy storage (batteries) lined up in series in the bottom of the nosecone. A novel solution considering the weight and cooling complications this may have had. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/11/hondas-f1-kers-motor-60-kw-21000-rpm-7-kg.html

The KERS technology was not passed onto the Brawn outfit and/or would have been difficult to implement with the Mercedes engine due to the crank position, cost and purely timing, KERS wasn't possible for the team to introduce in 09. As other teams struggled to utilize their own KERS systems Brawn were able to move ballast around their car but mainly loaded their bib/tea tray area with ballast echoing the weight distribution ethos that the RA109 equipped with KERS may have had. KERS packages in 09 weighed around 30KG's which is a substantial amount of weight when you consider being able to put this wherever you like in the car. The likes of McLaren & Ferrari had to place their heavy systems in certain places to utilize cooling and weight distribution.


It turned out that Red Bull would be Brawn GP's closest rival during 2009 with Brawn leading the charge from Australia and the DDD being the coup of the season finding a loophole in the regulations relating to diffuser overall height and using a section above the starter hole to create an additional deck in order to create more diffuser volume. This was much to the frustration of all but Williams and Toyota who too had similar designs and interpreted the rules in much the same way. Ross Brawn as part of the Technical Working Group (TWG) had throughout the draft stage of the technical regulations for 09 pointed out that the area should be looked at due to the potential it possessed to create downforce. He later argued when the teams tried to retrospectively ban Double Deck Diffusers 'I told you so'. The ruling by the FIA to allow DDD's was a huge frustration to a lot of the teams as they knew the lengths that would need to be taken to integrate it into their own cars. The development and implementation of DDD's would take several races and lead to a total shift in the development path most teams would need to take for the season. However it was clear that the BGP001's diffuser was the silver bullet and needed for the fastest package. Red Bull were seemingly the most frustrated having designed what was essentially the quickest non DDD car. Adrian Newey's bug bear was not that he hadn't come up with DDD it was that he could neither get it banned or quickly adapt his RB5 to have it, due to them adopting pull rod rear suspension. Whilst the Red Bull team poured resources into integrating DDD the Brawn team just tried to stay consistent as they couldn't afford the massive cost of a development race and perhaps capitalized on the change from Bridgestones grooved tyres to a more traditional slick tyre whereas others struggled. 


It turned out that the early advantage that Brawn got in 09 was enough to take both Drivers and Constructors titles making only minor changes to the BGP001 throughout the season. The BGP001 considering it's late change to Mercedes power remained very reliable with the team only having 2 retirements all season only 1 of which was a mechanical failure (Rubens Barrichello at Turkey with a rear suspension failure)

Throughout 09 Brawn had realized that the high chassis / nose / suspension of the RB5 was worth pursuing for 2010. They ran a sight bar / nose ridges to test during Free Practice sessions in 09 in order to assess whether this was the right design process to follow. It's difficult to know from the outside how much effort Brawn had to sacrifice on their 2010 car in order to win the 09 championships.
Mercedes decided to purchase Brawn GP but the announcement wasn't made until after the 2009 season had concluded. 2009 had been a hard fought battle with Red Bull and although the team took the title, it had come at the expense of balancing the development of the 09 car further into the season than perhaps was really wanted.

2010




The WO1, Mercedes first car in F1 since the 50's was flawed for many reasons although the Brawn GP team had been world champions in 09 they neither had the resources or money to contest the battle for 09 and produce another championship winning car for 2010. When design focus was needed to be placed on the 2010 car during the 09 season both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were at the helm of the BGP001 neither of which drove in Mercedes first season compromising the W01 with traits that perhaps their new driver line up of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg wouldn't like. Michael returned to the sport in 2010 after a 3 year absence in which time he spent the first year as an advisor to Ferrari and continued his motorsport journey on two wheels until at which point he had an accident and injured his shoulder. It was afterall this injury that had stopped his return for Ferrari in 09 for the injured Massa at Ferrari and reignited Michaels passion to be in F1.
The DDD diffusers that were the catalyst for Brawn GP's success in 09 were already now fully integrated into the lead teams packages, aided by Exhaust blown diffusers some of the teams now had a huge chunk more rear downforce than the W01.

Several rules were bought in, in order to make adjustments from the rules first laid down in 09:

The front tyres were reduced in width from 270mm to 245mm in order to remove some mechanical grip from the front of the cars.
A new points system and qualifying process was bought in to both balance the larger field and add further entertainment for the fans.
Refuelling would also be excluded. This would see teams carrying around 160-180 Litres of fuel from the start of the race rather than the 70-90 Litres they carried in 09. This in itself required a major rethink in order to balance the requirements of qualifying and the race and selecting wheelbase/weight distribution correctly would give one team more of an advantage than it's competitors.
The 2010 season saw all the teams agree on an exclusion of KERS due to the heavy costs involved for the 3 new teams entering the sport.


The largest changes from the BGP001 to the WO1 came in the form of the higher ridged nose/bulkhead as I alluded to earlier that the team had taken a cue from Red Bull and in a latter upgrade a blade style roll over hoop with twin airbox entries either side.

It was McLaren who stole the limelight in regard to innovation for 2010 with their F Duct system which reduced drag when the driver placed his knee/hand over a cockpit aperture moving airflow normally designated for the engine cover exit and instead blowing the rear side of the rear wing plane via the shark fin style engine cover which was attached to the rear wing plane. All teams realised that the device was a very clever interpretation of the rules and set about designing their own variant. This turned out to be a protracted battle as McLaren's tub was designed with this in mind whereas the other teams were not. Mercedes decided that they couldn't effectively develop a close loop (driver operated) F Duct system into their package without further compromising their current aero (due to the low slung blade roll hoop) and so set about adding an open loop (passive) rear wing drag reduction duct. 

They teased everyone at first with a loop that went from the main plane to top plane but it would appear no other ducting lead from other areas of the cars to this section. The design they eventually used was remarkably similar to a design that McLaren ran in Monaco 2009 who cited this to be their original inspiration behind the current F Duct. Ducts like these are activated by air speed and so when the car reaches a certain velocity the air moving through the duct to the slots on the rear wing plane reduce drag. If indeed this arrangement was passive then I see no reason that Mercedes having experience with the device couldn't fit it or a similar system to the W03 to reduce drag on straights that DRS is unavailable just as Lotus are looking to do with their DDRS system. The slot and ridges are formed in the central 15cm free zone that allows for the DRS pylons etc and so should still be legal under the 2012 regulations.

2011


This year was the first year proper for Mercedes as a team and with a car designed with Nico and Michael in mind. Gone was the controversial blade style roll hoop/airbox in favour of a more conventional one. Even though both Force India and Team Lotus had taken cues from the W01 with their 2011 challengers and ran with blade style hoops. Brawn and the team cited the blade hoop as being part of the compromise of the W01 causing CoG issues. The double decked diffusers of 09/10 were no longer available to the teams in 2011 being banned by the FIA.
With DRS taking the place of 2010's F ducts systems in order to reduce drag, the aerodynamics of the car before the rear wing would be paramount. Mercedes unlike most of their competitors positioned their DRS actuators in the endplates leaving the wing planes free of any obstructions or moving parts. Mercedes did however have problems both the actuation of DRS and problems with the wing aerodynamically especially it would seem with Michaels setup. A larger angle of attack chiefly to be blamed with aero balance being affected when DRS was deactivated in the braking phase. As the top plane snapped shut downforce should be restored allowing a stable turn in. However as in aeronautics if you run too high an angle of attack the wing stalls and loses aero efficiency. Both car stance (through suspension setup) and AoA can be blamed for the stall that was occurring, as soon as the wing pitched to the right angle the airflow reattached and downforce is restored.

Perhaps one of the most controversial aerodynamic elements at the end of 2010 and carried on rumbling into 2011 were the flexi front wings being used by the Red Bull and Ferrari teams. Most of the teams found it incredible the wings were making it through deflection tests but even when the FIA increased the load/deflection tests they still passed. McLaren's 2011 contender (MP4-26) also ran with a Front flexi wing but not to the same degree as the RB7. Mercedes were once again late to the party and it was Germany before the team started testing/using their own iteration. Whilst on the subject of front wings Mercedes really played with 2 front wings for the start of the season with one of these having a hole in the main body of the wing. See Craig Scarboroughs article on this: http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/2011/03/11/mercedes-w02-new-front-wing-analysis/

Above: Front Wing with hole in the main element

The Sidepods entries were angled inward toward the tub encouraging airflow around the Sidepods. The nosecone took further influence than the W01 from Red Bulls designs with a higher much flatter nose in order to drive more air under the car and even more pronounced ridges running longitudinally around the suspension.

What i found strange from the original test car were the sidepod airflow conditoners were very small (vertically) of which my only prognosis was they wanted to get as much more air toward the rear wheels rather than concentrating the flow at the sidepod itself. These were replaced at the last pre season test with more conventional height conditioners.

The W02 took the W01's moving wheel base throughout 2010 and decided on a stunted short wheel base. The short wheel base could attribute to some of the issues the team had both with CoG, aerodynamic deficiencies and tyre degradation. With Pirelli re entering the sport and taking over from the out going Bridgestone era the focus for tyre degradation in 2011 was always destined to take a front seat. Tied to this was the FIAs introduction of a weight distribution ruling in which mandates a 46/54 split. This was done so that teams didn't steal a march on another by stumbling across the perfect tyre balance and causing a development war between the teams to find the perfect balance. Although the teams had decided to omit KERS from their cars in 2010 it made a triumphant return in 2011 and Mercedes had been working on improving theirs with the system also reduced to around 24kgs.


Above: The original Mercedes WO2 Exhaust design
Their original exhaust much like their rivals exited rearward but seemed to pointed further outward toward the wheel/tyre than say Red Bull perhaps in an attempt to seal the diffuser edge. The second version of their exhaust taken to the last pre season test was much further forward, exiting out of the side of the Sidepod encouraging airflow across the floor toward the rear of the car enmass with the airflow already pushing around the side of the Sidepods. The movement of the exhaust further forward could also be in response to their short wheel base. A small vertical strake in front of the wheel helped to navigate the airflow inbound toward the region above the diffuser.
Above: The WO2's second version of the exhaust 

It took Mercedes until Valencia to converge on the Red Bull solution who had their exhausts exiting much more rearward and enclosed in a tunnel above the floor to the outside edge of the floor sealing the diffuser much further back and eliminating the effects of tyre squirt (see my tyre squirt article). Even with the FIA curtailing the off throttle effect this remained the most effective way of getting a diffuser sealing effect.
Mercedes GP found in 2010 as with the other Mercedes powered cars using the exhaust plume to enhance downforce was unpredictable. This is most likely down to the mapping constraints and general attributes of the Mercedes powerplant in comparison to the Renault, Ferrari and Cosworth power units. With throttle sensitivity and overheating of bodywork all being issues for the Mercedes powered cars. The problem with modern F1 is the lack of testing and the cost implications of taking test parts to the circuit. On the other hand some teams throw caution to the wind and will take more physical parts to a race weekend to test than others. The problem with assessing exhaust plume airflow in simulation is getting the simulation right after all the exhaust is ballistic and changes based on throttle input make using the exhaust plume an aerodynamic advantage by exiting into atmosphere very much a driver controlled entity. Enter Off throttle blowing something not only the Mercedes teams were doing but something that definitely helped those using Mercedes engine to narrow the gap to their rivals. Using off throttle blowing helps to keep a continuous flow over the diffuser, energizing the boundary of the diffuser and helping to draw more air through the diffuser.

 Above: (Top & Middle) shows the solution's Mercedes used to enhance EBD running an exhaust channel on top of the floor at the extremities of the diffuser. (Bottom) Shows the heat treatment added to the exterior of the diffuser to help with heat demand placed on the area by the exhaust position.  Mercedes version of EBD ran much shorter on the floor than say the Red Bull variant which may be due to exhaust tuning requirements of the Mercedes engine.
2012

Mercedes began their 2012 campaign in quite a strange manner using the W02 at the first test. This allowed the team to correlate tyre data from 2011 with the new Pirelli compounds of 2012. Apart from tyre data, testing with an old car offers little benefit as the new car differed significantly in wheelbase. The WO3 for all in tense and purposes should have sorted most of Mercedes 2011 problems with a years running on the Pirelli tyres, a new simulator and an enhanced team with new members of staff during the design phase of the WO3.
The largest innovation at the start of this season came from the Mercedes team in the shape of the Double DRS (DDRS) system. Part of the system had been tested at the end of season test in Abu Dhabi but most passed it off when the drivers complained of difficulties when entering the braking and turning phase. This device then muted the 'W' duct (as the airflow pattern looks like a W) used the driver cooling hole as a method of passively blowing the front wing. Air entering the cooling slot passes down the wing pylons and out of a slot on the underside of the wing. However when this test took place they were using the WO2, for the WO3 the team had also integrated pipes which run the length of the car joining the Front wing with the rear wing meaning that DRS plays a part in the activation of the system in a similar manner to the original F duct concept found on the McLaren etc during 2010. The Lotus team protested DDRS but the system was deemed legal due to the driver not being part of the activation process like the original F ducts demanded and rather the DRS being active or inactive provided the switch for drag reduction. If you have followed my work on Final Sector since the start of the season you may see that I don't fully subscribe to the Mercedes Front wing DDRS function others do.
How i believe Mercedes DDRS works


This is my theory and is based upon techniques used in aircraft like blown flaps, circulation control wings, boundary layer control etc. Below I'll aim to explain my ideas further/better than I did in my original article: http://finalsector.co.uk/mercedes-super-drs-f-duct/
I must add that this is a theory and please feel free to dismiss it over the conventional theory.

My theory is based on the slots under the front wing making the wing work when blown. This is based on the assumption that when Mercedes originally tested the 'W' duct it was in order to create additional downforce aswell as reducing drag. Wings can only create so much downforce, this can either be done by dimensionally adding more wing or by increasing the angle of attack. The size of the flaps available to F1 designers is heavily restricted in order to limit the downforce available, they can add gurney flaps but these will add drag and so on the front wing are usually limited in size. Wing angle of attack (AoA) can effect how much downforce is generated but once again at the compromise of drag. I'd guess 15 degrees is about the stalling level of a wing (ie the point at which it won't create additional downforce and stalls) if you were to blow the rear face of the wing you can elevate the wing angle by perhaps another 5 degrees before it stalls. This gives you the advantage of being able to run a higher AoA than if you didn't blow it, resulting in a net increase in downforce.



Above: Cascadeless Front Wing adopted from Montreal onwards

Since Montreal, Mercedes have run their front wing without the cascades which again highlights that they may have been creating too much front end downforce and the cascades creating drag as a net result. (They also changed their wing pylon design to a very McLaren-esque design) I believe the wing from the WO2 with the hole in front of the wing planes paved the way for this, with the designers wanting the air to be forced in behind the main planes to allow a higher AoA. Being able to do this without the need for the through hole would be more efficient.

Above: Mercedes WO2 Front Wing with blow through hole
So how does this all work with DRS i hear you say well i believe the original 'W' duct is intrinsically linked with the DDRS tubing from the rear wing:
Airflow captured in by the nosecone cooling hole is sent down the wing pylons and exits underneath the wing allowing for a higher AoA


When DRS is deployed the airflow that usually goes down the pylons toward the front wing is sucked/pulled past and sent along the tubing to the rear wing.

Above: Image of the tubing that runs inside the Sidepod from the front wing through to the rear wing endplates
This has two effects: it augments the airflow around the DRS flap by laterally blowing across the underside of the top wing plane enhancing the DRS effect but more importantly without the blown effect on the underside of the front wing, the wing has too high an AoA and stalls shredding both downforce and drag.

Some of Nico's quickest lap times at the start of the season saw him deactivating DRS prior to the braking phase which if my theory is correct would see the front wing becoming blown restoring front end downforce and balance for cornering/braking.

Mercedes DDRS is really a qualifying enhancement and if my theory serves correct becomes more of a hamper as the race goes on.  This is due to pitch angle, as the fuel burns off during a race the AoA on wings alter ever so slightly which puts the car through an evolution process.  This could be part of the reason for Mercedes tyre struggles (again speculation).

Although initially the Lotus system was hailed a DDRS it would now appear it is very much a passive F duct system much like the one that Mercedes ran on the WO2 so if Mercedes are prepared to take their closest championship rivals on there is no reason why they couldn't employ a similar system to reduce drag on the lower plane like Lotus: http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/lotus-e20-passive-f-duct-system.html (TDRS anyone?)
DDRS may have be becoming the WO3's Achilles heel as any upgrades placed on the car will need to be balanced with the aero shift that is created by the device. This however is not the largest problem in play for Mercedes and that more likely stems from the polar opposite of the WO2 with the current car having a very long wheel base. The wheelbase can effect everything from suspension geometry, to tyre wear, to how downforce is created amongst many other things. The WO2 suffered in terms of cooling due to its wheelbase as the Sidepods were too small compromising internal dynamics. This season the Sidepods are much bulkier to both accommodate the additional cooling requirements and the DDRS tubing. The boundary layer build up along the top surface must be fairly significant due to the length of the Sidepods. However having the exhaust exit on top of the Sidepod will at least enhance the airflow travelling along the top of the sidepod.
Unlike other teams that use the Coanda style exhaust positions and have adopted the vortex generator fins on top of the Sidepod Mercedes don't need these as the airflow doesn't need to be destabilized or guided in a downwash effect as the Sidepod remains fairly high to the rear. Mercedes haven't upgraded their car at the rate of their opposition with their major upgrade package featuring at Monaco: http://finalsector.co.uk/monaco-gp-technical-roundup/ and the race after in Montreal saw the team drop the front wing cascades most likely in response of balancing the upgrades from Monaco.

Mercedes have a difficult decision to make with now only 9 races of the season left, unlike their counterparts Mercedes have stood firm in their design ethos whilst others have converged on very similar exhaust design paths. This is something that the team did in 2011 too leaving them trailing to their rivals. They claim that by not adding upgrades they can better understand the effects of the Pirelli tyres, this all sounds well and good but whilst you stand still in F1 your are actually moving backwards in comparison to your opposition. Mercedes need to make a decision on where they need to finish this season as upgrades are the only way to stop the like of Williams, Sauber, and Force India overtaking them in the title battle. They could do the same as Honda in 08 and shift focus now to their 2013 contender but this could be at the cost of lucrative FOM money.

Conclusion

From the outside looking in it would appear that Mercedes internal processes take too long to implement leaving them at odds when either following their own design path or trying to converge on others. This problem is systematic and stems from the gestation period between Honda and Mercedes as highlighted here by Ross Brawn after a hard fought 2009 campaign:

"In the interests of fairness, we simply said that every department had to lose 40 per cent," said Brawn, something regretfully. "It was as crude as that. We had no other mechanism to go through the company and say, two from here, five from there."
A lot of good people were lost in that cull, not necessarily big names, but engineers that were a crucial part of forming a team's backbone, that helped ensure their departments could run with a certain degree of autonomy. The group that was left was not only shellshocked by the cull and the loss of several key working relationships, but had to establish a whole new dynamic.
Into that mix throw in the departure of a senior member of the engineering staff - Jorg Zander, who left early last year - and it's not really so surprising in hindsight that the car was a little unadventurous. Its gearbox, for example, was too short to make really aggressive use of the twin diffuser”

As Ross alludes to here Brawn GP didn't simply lose tea ladies in the cull, the staff lost were integral to the team and meant a total change in philosophy this would then be followed by the introduction of Mercedes who would want processes done their way. Mercedes like Honda before them will be thinking long and hard about their involvement at team level and the rewards team ownership brings. As I have been writing this article word has spread that Mercedes intends to step back from it's team involvement from 2013 onwards which shows that the money men in Stuttgart now realise that just like Renault, F1 can bring success without a having the need for a team.

All images used are copyright their original owners: Sutton Images / XPB Images / BAR555 / motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/  / Motorsport.com / Lat Photographic
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