Although the nature of the Silverstone track was beneficial to them, as it reduced the occurrence of the infamous bounce-backs, the changes made to the Mercedes W13 have renewed optimism for the team, which now believes it is on the right track in terms of development.
As Mercedes engineering director Andrew Shovlin put it : “The path we want to follow is becoming clearer and clearer. And that’s a positive thing from a development point of view.”
“I think this update is the first one that goes in the right direction since we started modifying the car in Barcelona, and it’s good to see that it has worked.”
Following these words, analysts at Motorsport.com have taken a look at the updates Mercedes mounted at Silverstone , to see what clues they give to their current development approach.
Although the list of technical innovations prior to the British event was extensive, the change made to its front wing was not mentioned, so at first not much attention was paid to it.
While it is true that they did not install new parts. The change is visually detectable, the diveplane (outer fin) has been moved to a lower position on the endplate, but it is the same element. You can even see some cuts where the fin was previously placed.
This change may seem small, but its repositioning has made the wing behave quite differently. For example, both the path of airflow and the way pressure builds across its surface affect its interaction with other parts of the car.
Not only is this critical to the performance of the front wing, but it is also key to the ongoing effect of airflow passing through the car, with a wake generated by the front tire also being affected by directional change.
The floor, which we will also talk about shortly, did receive more looks and attention during the past weekend, due to the problems that it had caused Mercedes until now.
However, the changes introduced in the front area of the car should not be underestimated either, as they are quite significant if we take into account how the flow structures will work from now on.
These changes are unique to the Brackley -based outfit, showing that Mercedes is still going somewhat against the grain, trying to find performance where others haven’t yet.
These changes favor the W13 ‘s ‘no pontoons’ concept in some respects, but its rivals aren’t looking the other way either and if they somehow discover aspects that could also help them unlock more performance with their own concepts, they will surely end up copying. some of these changes exclusive to Mercedes.
To achieve the goals of the German team, they have also added volume to the side of the chassis, around the suspension arms.
In the suspension fairings they have also added filleting extensions (spiral lines) to accommodate the changes.
These modifications will direct airflow towards the ground and to the sides, with the chassis side wings also redesigned and repositioned to maximize the new flow path conditions that have been created.
In order for these changes to be fully exploited, it is likely that Mercedes will be forced to make further optimizations in the coming races.
For now, the changes seem not to have affected the entire car in its entirety, but have only affected certain areas, such as the side fenders and the floor.
Mercedes has also worked on a new design for the edge of the floor of the W13 .
At the heart of the redesign remains the DNA of the initial concept, with the scythe-shaped rim wing section, although they have been enlarged forwards.
This floor section is much the same as McLaren’s early 2022 design: with just three extractors, which are used to condition the direction of airflow that is drawn from under the floor. McLaren , at this point in the course, has increased from three to five extractors.
The edge of the Mercedes floor has been completely revised and has been coated with a metallic finish to help reduce any possible flex, while a new, even beefier tie rod has also been fitted in the center of this section.
The tie rods used around the front extractor section also serve a dual purpose, as their shape undoubtedly favors the production of vortices, which they hope will greatly improve performance in that area.
The forwardmost section of the ground edge has also been rolled up more compared to the latest spec. All of these changes point to Mercedes having a much clearer idea of how to channel the airflow around and under its car.
The most recent changes also show that the structure of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have failed to generate enough downforce to overcome the amount of drag they had on their car since the first race of 2022.
Although it is true that in recent weeks they had already managed to reduce that deficit, the redesign of the outer section of the rear wing for Silverstone has been one more effort in that direction.
The changes made to the rear wing are also clear, with a flattening of the upper section, thus stretching the size of the wing and altering the vortices it generates at the ends (Silverstone, right photo).
