Following their time in Sepang, Mercedes found themselves with more uncertainties than resolutions. However, the Singapore Grand Prix weekend marked a pivotal moment for the engineering team, as it offered vital insights into their latest package. Despite being a sprint weekend, the re-opening of parc ferme and the strategic decision to vary configurations between the drivers created an invaluable chance to test and accumulate essential data.
This data will be reviewed during the upcoming interval leading to Austin, with a primary aim: to grasp why the package rolled out in Malaysia has not performed as anticipated, even though it holds the promise for optimization. Mercedes has unveiled a significant part of the mystery, stating that the modifications altered the car’s aerodynamic balance, rendering the W17 considerably more challenging to drive.
While the upgraded package met its initial target of boosting overall downforce, evidenced by performance in Malaysia’s high-speed sections, it also unveiled an unforeseen drawback. The enhancements shifted the aerodynamic balance of the W17 too far to the front, destabilizing the vehicle and considerably constraining its operational range.
“If you wanted to simplify the core of the issue, our goal was to provide more performance through additional downforce. We’ve confirmed that we measured an increase in downforce on the car,” said Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta during the team’s Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show podcast.
“Unfortunately, the challenge is multifaceted. It isn’t simply black and white. It’s a nuanced situation with several variables. We may have provided the downforce, but possibly not uniformly across every running scenario of the car on the track. Consequently, this has begun to change the car’s balance under varying conditions, necessitating adjustments from the driver.”
The balance has shifted toward the front-end
In some respects, a shift in balance was foreseeable considering the significant modifications to the floor and sidepods that were introduced in Sepang. The genuine challenge emerged when it became clear that while Mercedes successfully accessed the additional downforce they had set out to attain, those enhancements did not manifest evenly throughout the diverse operating conditions, defying expectations. Consequently, engineers faced heightened difficulty in discovering a set-up that could tap into the complete potential of the revised W17.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
“There are several issues we need to address, particularly since we’re encountering a car with a heightened front balance. It’s more pronounced than we originally anticipated. Thus, we have to recalibrate the range in which the car operates. This process is taking a bit of time,” Resta remarked, highlighting that there’s still unexplored potential within the new configuration.
This indicates that Mercedes must now approach both the configuration and driving requirement differently to tap into the car’s capabilities, as the W17 has grown less accommodating and more challenging to handle when functioning outside of its optimal conditions. Although there is potential for improved performance, reaching it consistently has now become a much more complicated endeavor, and the shift in balance has rendered the car trickier to navigate.
In the season’s earlier half, one of the strengths of the W17 was its rear-end stability, particularly in scenarios with traction limitations. This characteristic often placed Mercedes as a competitive benchmark, not just due to its power unit but also because of its effectiveness in translating power at corner exits from low-speed turns.
The rear is less stable under braking and this change the approach
Nonetheless, this alteration in balance has necessitated a shift in driving technique. Antonelli, in particular, has a history of adopting an aggressive corner-entry strategy, seeking to minimize corner travel distance, gain time at the apex, and reapply throttle as swiftly as possible.
This method had proven successful until now, partly because the previous configuration ensured a stable rear that remained steady during braking, allowing him to attack corner entrances confidently. The new set of upgrades, however, altered important traits of the W17 and disrupted that stability.
As a consequence, the drivers found it essential to modify their tactics both at turn-in and in the mid-corner phase. Unsurprisingly, Antonelli reported ongoing mid-corner understeer during both the Malaysia and Singapore weekends, which stemmed from a difficulty in rotating the vehicle as precisely as he preferred upon entry. This hindered his apex line and delayed his throttle application when exiting the corner.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
A narrower window, but there is more potential to extract
To address the understeer issue, drivers are faced with two options: either increase steering input, which adds more strain to the front tyres, or utilize the throttle to rotate the vehicle mid-corner, as often occurred in Sepang. However, on hot and challenging circuits, the latter tactic can exacerbate rear tyre overheating and deterioration. Consequently, the revised W17 encountered far greater difficulties than expected in low-speed sections of the Sepang circuit.
Thus, it was not surprising that once the restrictions of parc ferme were lifted post-sprint race in Singapore, Mercedes opted for a notably different setup compared to the initial part of the weekend. The approach selected for qualifying and the race ultimately bore fruit, leading them towards discovering a more stable rear end.
Initial signs of improvement had already surfaced during the wet sprint: “Initially, the car showed significant overbalance and was quite oversteery, creating a tough driving experience. As the front tyres wore down, we eventually found a much more favorable car balance. Following that, Kimi began achieving green and purple sectors, closing the gap to the leaders,” stated deputy team principal Bradley Lord.
The enhancements were also reflected in the timing differences. Even under slower track conditions on Saturday, Antonelli stood out as one of only two drivers in the top 10, alongside Hamilton, who improved on his qualifying time from Friday. Most of that progress was made in sector two, the circuit’s most intricate section, where the modifications to the setup provided him with the confidence to push harder and reveal more of the potential encapsulated in the updated W17.
As they head to Austin, Mercedes plans to reincorporate the front wing assessed during practice in Singapore, with the aim of recalibrating the overall package, broadening the operating window, and unlocking the full potential of the car: “We need to adjust our baseline setup. We must fine-tune the mechanical aspects of the car, working to modify some characteristics we’ve observed with this new package,” remarked Resta.
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– The Autosport.com Team
