Mercedes is working hard to understand why the W13-mini suffered so much at its test debut in Bahrain: Brackley’s engineers explained that the silver arrow was new only in the aerodynamic guise, while from a mechanical point of view it was the same that was observed in Barcelona in the pre-season tests.
Drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had to struggle with a hopping on the straight that was more evident than in the three days of testing in Spain and even in braking there were numerous and repeated blockages of the front wheels which led to different tire dechappings.
George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
In short, on the Sakhir track the Star impressed with its extremely small bellies which made it possible to reduce drag, but I did not show those competitive qualities that Mercedes could have expected, having introduced a package of important innovations.
If we look at last year, the team led by Toto Wolff had faced a similar problem, when the W12, with the bottom equipped with the shells in the trailing edge, could not find the good aerodynamic balance that made the car particularly difficult to tune and with surprising sudden behavior.
Mercedes W12: the bottom with the shells that didn’t work in 2021
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The music seems to repeat itself and, after careful analysis of all the data collected, it would have emerged that some values that were introduced in the simulation systems and in the wind tunnel could have been wrong, misleading the world champion Constructors team.
At the conclusion of the tests in Bahrain, the two drivers were not very confident of being able to stay ahead of Red Bull and Ferrari, given that both concluded the three days of testing in crescendo with a substantial improvement in performance net of the solution of many problems of setting characteristic point of ground-effect single-seaters such as porpoising.
The ball, therefore, passed from the track to the Brackley headquarters where in-depth investigations began, in an attempt to understand why the W13 that ran in Sakhir is clearly slower and less competitive than the indoor version.
Mercedes AMG F1: the entrance to the Brackley office where there is the wind tunnel
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
And judging by the smiles of some members of the team, it would not be surprising if at least part of the trouble could have been found, giving hope that in the opening GP of the season the whims of the silver arrow could be very limited, so much so as to make the silver arrow a formidable opponent for Red Bull and Ferrari.
Already tomorrow’s free practice sessions should give some indications if the right path has been found or if at home the Mercedes technicians will have to find the… ghost that is making you lose nights of sleep to exploit the W13-mini according to expectations.
Mercedes W13: in Brackley they analyzed the data collected in Bahrain
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
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