Mercedes, less ‘diva’ and more robust: also thanks to the mechanics

By Carlo Platella
The term ‘diva’ was coined in 2017 by Mercedes officials, who were dealing with a temperamental car that was difficult to tune to extract its full potential. The same adjective also proves accurate for the ground-effect Silver Arrows, which have long been limited by an excessively narrow operating window, including the current W15. The development carried out in Brackley, however, is not limited to aerodynamics alone, and is slowly making the Mercedes a friendlier single-seater.

A chronic problem

Among the most obvious shortcomings of the latest cars to come out of Brackley is the instability of the rear end, an aspect on which Mercedes concentrated carefully during the genesis of the W15. “Great attention has been paid to improving the unpredictability of the previous car’s rear axle”commented technical director James Allison during the presentation. “We have worked hard to ensure that both axles, but particularly the rear, provide better tyre management than the W14.” The problem, also found on the W15, arises from the lightness of the rear axle, whose sliding generates a superficial overheating of the tires, which in the long run is also transmitted to the tire carcass. A dynamic that is exacerbated in hot conditions. “AND simply a rear tire temperature problemand that is where most of our attention falls,” recent comment from Director of Track Engineering Andrew Shovlin.

The problem is attributable to the aerodynamic deficiencies of the rear, but not only. Shovlin explains: “It has to do with how you set up the car, so you may need some mechanical tools to help you change it. However, the same effect can be achieved by working on the aerodynamic characteristics at various speed ranges in the curve”. In the spring months, Mercedes decided to intervene on two fronts: introducing aerodynamic updates and modifying the suspensions so as not to worsen the aerodynamic characteristics.We also worked on the mechanical package”, Allison’s confirmation. “One of the ways you can make a difference is when you bring a package that’s not just an aero upgrade that everyone’s trying to do. We’ve seen some pretty good gains in that area.”

More robust Mercedes

A glimpse of the mechanical changes made to the W15 is provided by the bulge appeared on the nose of the Silver Arrows starting from the Austrian Grand Prix, which hides a new third element of the suspension. However, it is impossible to exclude other interventions, especially regarding the rear. Overall, the mechanical development has supported the aerodynamic one, widening the operating window of the car and making it more stable and benign. In other words, less ‘diva’. “We always thought that on a good day this car looked fast. But to do that for a whole weekend was difficult in the first part of the season. Now it is more ‘usable’,” comments Shovlin.

Already after the successes of Spielberg and Silverstone, Russell and Hamilton celebrated the rediscovered driveability of the W15, with the possibility of finally pushing the car to the limit. All this by triggering a virtuous circle with tireskeeping them in the ideal temperature window, thus making driving easier and preventing slipping and corrections on the steering wheel, which are harmful for overheating the tyres.

If the drivers benefit from all this, however, it is also thanks to the simplification of the work of set-up, ensured by a car that is reactive but at the same time resistant to adjustments. Shovlin continues: “One of the areas we have improved is being able to guess the set-up from the first free practice sessions. This provides a great basis to work on performance and fine-tune the set-up, which is a huge help for the weekend. At the start of the season, if we made small changes, suddenly the balance would fail us and we would be in big trouble.”

Next steps

Meanwhile, in Brackley, work continues to close the gap between McLaren and Red Bull. A new package made up of a floor and diffuser made its appearance at Spa, but its purpose is not to correct the instability of the rear end.The goal is simply more aerodynamic load.. We are not trying to achieve different characteristics”Shovlin’s explanation. The package was shelved after the first day of testing, also following the bouncing complained about by the drivers and the great difficulties encountered in every type of curve.

However, according to Toto Wolff after the race, the initial problems of the Belgian weekend were not related to the updates: “We made some drastic changes to recover some of the performance, but we knew it wasn’t the bottom. The work done during the night between Friday and Saturday, both in the simulator and here on the track, was the key. It was a matter of a mechanical alignment to how we expected the car to behave.” Words that shift the focus back to mechanics, whose evolution is helping Mercedes to free itself from that ‘diva’ character that has haunted it for several years now.