Technical analysis: First lap crash hid potential of Mercedes revamp
The Spanish Grand Prix collision between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton resulted in no points for Mercedes, but also meant we did not see the full potential of a slew of new parts fitted to the car.
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For although the race did not pan out as anticipated, the signs were there from the extent of the revisions to the W07 that Mercedes could have made yet another step with its package.
Front Wing
The unused front wing from Sochi was immediately placed on the car for free practice, taking advantage of the changes made by the aero department back at Brackley.
The endplate has been redesigned, in order to change how the airflow moves across the front face of the tyre and then around it. This design is aimed at improving not only direct performance, but also helping manage the tyre's wake to improve performance downstream too.
The slots placed in the endplate (highlighted in yellow) correlate with the position of the inboard canard (highlighted in red), suggesting that they are working in unison to improve performance.
Nose
The W07's nose shape was also altered for Spain with the tip bought into more of a point, with the chin underneath re-profiled to match.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on the airflow downstream, changing its interaction with the neutral mainplane section below and how it moves under the nose and chassis. This will perhaps improve the performance of the 'S' duct at the same time.
Turning Vanes
The already heavily slotted turning vanes received some additional treatment in Spain, with the slots increased in length, as the second and third elements are now furnished with a slot that extrudes up the vertical element, rather than terminating at the footplate.
These changes are made in view of the tweaks further forward on the car, and will help influence was is going on behind too. There will be a continued control over the Y250 vortex shed from the front wing and afford some protection from errant airflow shed from the front tyre.
Brake duct
Five races in and Mercedes has its fifth iteration of brake duct, removing the triangular vane that was added two races ago. Furthermore, the inlet has been moved forward slightly again but covered by the horizontal meshing rather than the criss-cross design used in the opening rounds.
Problems for Nico Rosberg in Australia were the catalyst for the intense development in this area, when some discarded tyre rubber became lodged in the brake duct mesh and caused the brakes to overheat.
The feel of the brakes is of particular importance to the driver and Mercedes goes to considerable lengths to make sure its drivers are comfortable with theirs. As we can see in the image above, the pipework that meanders around the front of the W07 is used to bleed the brakes to provide the optimum set-up.
Suspension tricks
Mercedes has led the field in terms of dynamic suspension control for some time now, with its hydraulic FRIC system perhaps the most advanced until it was banned in 2014.
And whilst it can no longer connect the front and rear systems, it is still focused on using hydraulic sub systems to maximise the cars performance.
We've known for some time that Mercedes has been using a hydraulic heave element (see above), as it sits astride the chassis in clear view and is demonstrably different to the spring loaded systems used by its counterparts.
However, what has come to light in Spain is its use of hydraulic roll bars too (arrowed). These have previously been tucked away out of view, hidden by their carbon casing used to protect the brake cylinders.
Each hydraulic element has a small protrusion on its casing (red cap) which allows the engineers to bleed the system and fine tune the setup to each driver's requirements.
For those that keenly observe the dynamic behaviour of the cars through the corners, you'll have undoubtedly noted how the W07 seems to be very soft when it clips kerbs or goes over bumps but still reacts as if it is run stiffly. This trait not only allows the drivers to take more adventurous and aggressive lines but also helps with traction and tyre performance.
The use of this hydraulic setup goes to show the lengths that Mercedes has gone to in order to regain the kind of advantage that was available with the previous FRIC system.
Sidepods
Barcelona is somewhat of a way marker for the teams, being the first European race which makes it easier to ship full scale updates.
This line in the sand provides teams with a target to work towards and perhaps allows them some breathing room in the opening rounds with which to understand and operate the car, without running into too many issues.
As such, in Spain, the sidepods have seen some attention, with the sidepod inlet reprofiled to change the undercut, improving flow around the mid rift of the car and taking advantage of the aforementioned nose and turning vane changes.
Monkey Seat
At the rear of the car a new monkey seat was utilised which, when compared with the regular specification, had an additional slot in the upper element (arrowed).
The monkey seat is used to assist in the upwash of the exhaust plume and surrounding airflow to stabilise the car in transient conditions. The additional slot changes the point at which the airflow works with the rear wing, which was also run with more angle of attack in Spain.
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