Mercedes, signs of rebirth in Barcelona
With the double podium obtained at Montmeló, Mercedes received further interesting feedback from the W14 2.0, presented at Monte-Carlo and which immediately appeared to be an improvement over its ancestor. The 33 points brought home by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, the latter having risen from 12th to third position, restored enthusiasm in Brackley, to the point that the seven-time world champion spoke of “light at the end of the tunnel“.
An important part of this recovery on the team that is dominating the championship will focus on car-bottom. Luckily for Mercedes, Sergio Perez’s accident in Monaco GP qualifying exposed the “floor” of the RB19, revealing all the secrets of Adrian Newey’s masterpiece.
The Red Bull fund
Of course, the Mercedes technical team was also watching Perez’s Red Bull. From Barcelona, Wolff admitted that the W14 of the future could take its cue from what was unintentionally shown in the Principality: “For me, whether they are complex solutions or not, if that car bottom guarantees a lot of speed then it’s good. I asked my engineers a question and they told me that there are interesting things that can be analyzed on the operation of the air flow. We never had to talk about the beauty and aesthetics of the fund, just how it works“.
The abandonment of the zero-sidepod philosophy
The Austrian then clarified Mercedes’ step back on the zero-sidepod philosophy, definitively shelved with the W14 2.0. To specific question of FormulaPassionWolff specified of “having pushed for a return to a traditional bodyworkand so did Fred (Vasseur, ed.). Engineers keep saying sidepods make no difference. These cars generate most of the downforce through the floor, not through the engine hood. We want to exclude variables from the equation. Going back to the more conventional bellies and a bonnet, at least we won’t have to discuss them anymore. If it didn’t change anything, there was no reason not to“.
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