While the major issues of the past two seasons appear to have been addressed, a weakness in high-speed corners is now evident
JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE
its pursuit of an entirely new design concept for 2024, Mercedes had hoped that its shift would completely bypass the issues present in the W13/W14 lineage and begin its ascent back to Formula 1’s forefront. But it’s natural that a change in direction will be accompanied by new problems to solve, particularly with testing so limited by contemporary F1 regulations.
When the W15 was unveiled, it was visually very different to its predecessors. Unconstrained by the previous architecture, the Brackley team wanted to create something that was altogether more stable at the rear, and found that introducing a pushrod rear suspension geometry was the way to go. It retained the pushrod front, so it did not fully mimic the Red Bull philosophy, but instead developed a front suspension system that could work with two upper wishbone positions. The aft leg of this wishbone is underpinned by a removable plate on the monocoque, giving the team the opportunity to monitor which position is best in its weekend preparation, depending on the anti-dive characteristics required to keep the floor at a stable position.
“It used to be quite a thing back in the day, that suspension would be designed with multiple pick-ups,” said technical director James Allison. “It’s unusual in the modern era. But we wanted to answer a question and we’ve been able to do that.”
The suspension position that the team selects will largely be based upon the characteristics of the circuit; at slower venues, for example, less anti-dive might be preferable because the front wing can theoretically generate more downforce when it pitches closer to the road, and the turning moment would likely be shorter anyway given the reduced speeds into most corners. At faster circuits with a series of high-speed corners, reducing the amount of dive will be a bonus. Allison stated that the design does not come with a particularly big weight disadvantage, “especially if your car is below the weight limit”.
On the subject of that front wing, let’s dissect Mercedes’ design. The bead-like element linking the upper flap to the nose is deliberately designed with as little chord length as possible purely to satisfy the regulatory need for four wing elements per side. Allison reckons this was a “convenient way” to “have less load in that section of the wing”, but it off
