Ricciardo, Bottas However, in Mercedes' official preview for Emilia Romagna GP's Sprint weekend, Wolff pointed to "improvements" on the car for the "next race". Ferrari and Red Bull have both brought upgrades to their cars so far, to positive effect, but Mercedes have been biding their time. Ferrari have also opted against bringing a new update to the event. The wing in the structural part has always been the same since the beginning of the season, but Mercedes changed the size of the mobile flap string, looking for less drag solutions with a more cut spoiler in the upper edge, to which a gurney flap can be added if necessary. The changes to inlet and exit ducts will deliver a greater airflow mass for better cooling of the brake materials and brake calipers. Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here. The team have languished up to one second per lap off their rivals in the opening races of 2022. Isnt this part of the show and tell that takes place on Thursday? McLaren was second only to Ferrari in Hungarian Grand Prix Friday practice. Some mechanical components, such as the brake calipers, are lighter. The edge of the diffuser nearest the rear tyre featured a reduced curl, designed to reduce airflow separation in that region. Create your free account now! I know everybody in the factory has been working hard over Easter to try to bring event the smallest bits of improvement to the car. So what were the updates Red Bull brought? Reduced floor edge curl ahead of rear tyre. Some of the changes Mercedes will run this weekend are aimed at altering the performance of the diffuser, which has a strong influence on the porpoising effect. Several of the Mercedes tweaks introduced at Imola are focused on this airflow separation factor. At Mercedes, there was also a mixture of weight-saving and aerodynamic tweaks, but nothing that fundamentally addressed the cars porpoising problem. Stay up to date with top drivers including World Champions Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, established stars Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez, and youngsters Lando Norris, George Russell and Charles Leclerc. The focus of the work on the car designed by Adrian Newey concerns overweight and reliability, burdens that affect the results against Ferrari. Tracking Craig Scarborough in his various avatars on websites and YouTube shows across the internet (has he been cloned?!) All teams will have limited testing time on track ahead of the qualifying session for the sprint race, which will act as the qualifier for the feature race on Sunday. I know that all the team are working flat-out to try to achieve that.. While Mercedes and Red Bull have introduced some changes for this weekend, Ferrari has elected not to introduce any modifications. But as an aside we're still working hard to try to understand, get on top of and solve the bouncing because we know that, as well as the tyre warm-up, that's another area of weakness on this car that we need to fix before we'll be competitive., WATCH: F1 TV Tech Talk F1's 2022 radical sidepods explained. the full range of ride heights. The overweight RB18 is a plague that Christian Horners team has been trying to tackle since the start of the season. In addition, the mirror supports have been slightly revised. He said: The decision not to bring any major upgrades to the car seems more sensible when one considers that the upcoming race weekend in Imola will have a sprint race. Two maximums are given out and another driver just misses out on a perfect score, The Verstappen fight factors that led to Leclerc's costly crash, The tussle for French Grand Prix victory was bubbling up nicely between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, right up until the Ferrari driver made a critical error which handed his Formula 1 world title rival a straightforward path to win and cement his championship advantage.
Check out the 2022 F1 calendar for an overview of all the races, with extensive background and real-time information. However, Wolff feels a rushed approach to updates could confuse the team.
22nd April 2022, 11:08 | Written by Keith Collantine and Claire Cottingham. Ferrari's biggest adversary in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle has largely been itself more than Max Verstappen, and team errors and mechanical issues have contrived to put Charles Leclerc a whopping 63 points behind his rival. I think RBR had something like Front wing creates downforce while Mercedes has these in-depth explanations. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. And there will be big points up for grabs to the team that get their first upgrades of the season right, with Imola chosen as one of three Sprint events on the 2022 calendar. However, this new specification was not seen on the Imola circuit, and Ferrari raced the entire weekend with the previous solution. There has been an accompanying tweak to the deflector endplate there.
The engine cover and coke bottle area have been re-profiled to improve the airflow ahead of the rear tyres, enhancing diffuser performance. "We are not going to write the title off but it's just the current status quo - we are 0.9s off.". In Melbourne, Red Bull made a slight modification to the front wing in the endplate, shortening the shape of the outer plate. However, he has struggled to stay abreast of the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of pace. These vanes improve the air flow quality into the sidepod radiator duct and therefore improve the overall cooling of the car. Hamilton and Russells single-seater at Imola was equipped with a new floor structure, which saved roughly 5kg of weight along with other lighter components. The Brackley-based team have kept themselves in the World Championship fight with a string of impressive results, despite their car being much slower than their direct rivals. Russell, Alonso The shorter weekend on Friday due to the sprint race did not help the Brackley team to find the right path. Leclerc, Hamilton In the same press conference, Wolff hinted that the team would not be focusing on immediate upgrades for their car - which has violent 'porpoising issues' and is struggling through high-speed corners compared to their rivals. Be the first one to comment on this story, "He knows he will still challenge for the World Championship" - Former driver puts Lewis Hamilton ahead of F1 legends despite his tough start to 2022 season, "We cant run the car where we designed it to run" - Mercedes thinks porpoising will be removed 'in steps, rather than one big moment, "This car currently is not far off" - Lewis Hamilton compares his Mercedes W13 to his 'worst car' from 2009. A new floor is being trialled on Fernando Alonsos car. But theres still one area where he isnt satisfied, which he needs Red Bull to fix. Hamilton agrees their victory prospects are increasingly remote. In terms of the big Red Bull vs Ferrari theme of the weekend, it was a significant part of the story for Ferrari decided to forego their updates but Red Bull pressed on with theirs. All rights reserved. Lewis Hamilton races ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez at the Australian GP, Lewis Hamilton was left pleased with Mercedes' progress over the weekend, with himself and George Russell finishing fourth and third respectively, Lewis Hamilton still wore jewellery for the Australian GP despite the FIA's crackdown, with Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz reporting there may be a 'grace period', George Russell reacts to his first-ever podium for Mercedes. Mark Hughes and Giorgio Piola look at the upgrades brought by Red Bull and Mercedes to their respective cars for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend, as the development battle heated up at Imola Imola saw the first real tranche of significant upgrades for many teams, despite it offering just one practice session in which to test them, before the Sprint took place. Part of the leading edge of the floor has been increased in height which the team claims gives more load across 2022 Collantine Media Ltd | About RaceFans, Verstappen: Difficult to say whether Red Bull have fixed unexpected reliability problems, Verstappen urges TV interviews change as drivers criticise F1s new weekend format, Live: 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, Latifi stuns by topping wet final practice after Vettel crashes, Aston Martin: FIA had no concerns over novel rear wing design, Live: 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix third practice, Major caveats over F1 rules need sorting before progress on Red Bull-Porsche deal Horner, Collet strides to wet sprint race win as Leclerc hits team mate on final lap, F1 launches Drive it Out campaign to tackle abuse at races and on social media, Gasly reveals how a phone call with Vettel put him on path to F1 debut, Forecast offers hope to Verstappen as Red Bull cant compete with Ferrari in the dry, Verstappen prefers title fight against Leclerc after Hamilton rivalry, Aston Martins first points reward immense effort by factory after Melbourne crashes, Verstappen becomes 14th driver in F1 history to score more than one grand slam, Transcript: I need more power Hamilton and Russells contrasting fortunes at Imola, Ferrari backs increase to six sprint races as F1 Commission meets in London, Ocon blames pit equipment after penalty for near-miss with Hamilton in pits, Browse all 2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix articles, Read more about Keith Collantine, find all their articles and get in touch with them, Read more about Claire Cottingham, find all their articles and get in touch with them, Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here, Become a RaceFans Supporter to hide this ad and others. "So, the work that takes place now is a review of what has happened in Melbourne and an understanding of what we need to do going forward into Imola, and progress the car into a championship winner.". This was then combined with a slightly revised flow diverter, with a more twisted shape, similar to the Alpine solution. Mercedes' pace - or lack of - so far in 2022 has been one of the major storylines from the opening three races, with the team that are on a record streak of eight straight constructors' championships having fallen well behind Ferrari and Red Bull's performance with their new W13 car. The changed length of the mirror-sidepod stay is part of this package. F1 officially opened the European-leg of the season at the Imola circuit last week, and as usual, the first technical updates on the single-seaters arrived. & Mercedes driver George Russell admitted that the wait for updates to the W13 could be a long one. The dual-level splitter allows you to generate a vortex that wedges inside the venturi channel, and which helps accelerate the flow by increasing downforce. But there is still plenty for the reliable Mercedes to do before they can challenge for race wins, the team have wholeheartedly admitted. Watching Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes the three best-funded teams and therefore faced with the most difficulty in staying within the cost cap adapt to their technical challenges, without crossing their spend threshold, is very much part of the competitive dynamics of this season already. We dont have anything thats ground-breaking thats going to change our result but I hope that we do move slightly forward.. We are fortunate to have a base in Brackley, and in Brixworth, with hundreds of people working every hour they possibly can to make this racing car fast, competitive and a championship winner," Mercedes' Chief Strategist, James Vowles, explained. According to many insiders, the difference between Red Bull and Ferrari at the moment is due to the excessive weight of the RB18, and as soon as this gap is filled Red Bull could really become the best performing car. Nicholas Latifi beat Friday dominator Charles Leclerc by six tenths to top a rain-affected final Formula 1 practice session ahead of qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The aero shroud around the upper impact beam (onto which the mirrors and their accompanying vanes are mounted) was reprofiled, to eliminate small areas of separated airflow. Toto Wolffs team once again carried out rear wing tests on Friday with the two drivers testing different aerodynamic configurations. In the final instalment of our four-part history of Brabham, DAMIEN SMITH examines the demise of the team after one last hurrah, 18+, UK residents only, T&Cs Apply, Gamble Responsibly, How new rules have changed the face of F1s development war, F1s rules of conduct for drivers published by FIA. Transfer Centre LIVE! Speaking the day before the team capitalised on another Red Bull DNF at the Australian GP, Wolff admitted: "I think we are on the back foot. The floor mounting stays have been moved forward in an attempt at reducing the porpoising. The Imola weekend was the first important appointment of the 2022 season for the introduction of the first updates designed by the various teams to improve the cars. Speaking in the aforementioned interview with motorsport.com, the Briton elucidated the Silver Arrows' predicament, saying: Since there's no race this weekend, the team in Brackley and Brixworth will have some time to reorganize before flying off to Italy for the fourth race of the year. At Imola, what was estimated as a 10kg excess for the first three races had been cut by around 3kg. A revised floor edge to address the porpoising issue. News. "We know we haven't got the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull right now," said Wolff. 'We took the right road' says Leclerc as Ferrari end Friday on a high in Hungary. Mercedes Eriksen on for Man Utd vs Atletico Madrid in goalless friendly LIVE! Mercedes are readying themselves for F1's development race to begin in Imola as they look to ensure Ferrari and Red Bull do not extend their pace advantage at the front. If Red Bull is very flat without jumping, Ferrari suffers from hopping only in the last stages of the straights. The biggest saving came with a new set of beautifully-engineered brake calipers. The 24-year-old joined Mercedes from Williams with hopes of competing consistently at the top.
There is a turnaround of components, there are upgrades, there is an understanding of problems that we have and how do we move the performance forward both on the PU side and also on the chassis side.". Youve seen in the previous year how much happens in a season. As described in document supplied by Mercedes to FIA: Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? READ MORE: Why Sainz's qualifying crash had ramifications that stretched across the whole weekend, Christian Horner believed that the updates were a crucial part of his teams resounding one-two result, saying: We took a bit of a risk coming into the weekend with a couple of small parts we introduced to the car, which is always tricky when you've only got one session, But both Max and Checo have driven brilliantly this weekend and that one-two finish, all credit to the team for brilliant pit stops and strategy today, but also back in the factory in Milton Keynes the hard effort and work and picking ourselves up after the disappointment of Australia, to come back with a result like that., Max Verstappen wasnt sure if it was the updates or the general team performance in understanding and operating the car: Sometimes that can be worth more than updates. Vowles has made clear that for Mercedes it will be no different, with the team looking to ensure Ferrari and Red Bull do not extend their gap at the front. "The work that goes on between races is enormous. The first European event of the season promises to see several teams bring upgrades as the race to stay ahead intensifies.
but Russell like Lewis Hamilton opted for the lower downforce version shown here. As seen above, it has reprofiled the upper shroud of the side impact spars and its mirror housing. The team says: "These geometry changes have been introduced in order to remove small areas of separated air flow, and by doing so we improve air flow to the rear of the car. Sainz deal gives Ferrari what Red Bull and Mercedes dont have, Why Aston is more limited by porpoising than even Mercedes, Low-key track debut for Haass major F1 upgrade is misleading, Horner: 2023 F1 changes risk wacky aeroelastic concepts, Latifi beats Leclerc in final Hungarian GP F1 practice, What Red Bulls Porsche coyness hints about its own F1 future, F1 launches unified Drive It Out campaign against abuse, Whats actually going on with Alonsos F1 contract talks, Mark Hughes: Red Bulls right to fear Ferraris Hungary supremacy, Underdogs vs Mercedes in London Formula E qualifying, I dont think well ever know Newgarden on cause of his fall, Rosenqvist dominates Indy qualifying, Ericsson starts last, If its F1 tempting Palou out of Ganassi, hes being naive, Mercedes needs to undo experiments gone wrong in Hungary, Gary Anderson: Calling Haas a Ferrari copy is too simple, Ferrari strategy not a disaster like people say Sainz, Ganassis options for the seat its IndyCar champion doesnt want, The worth of Doviziosos 2022 MotoGP nightmare. This will have the effect of moving the cars centre of aerodynamic pressure slightly further forwards. GP Racings OLEG KARPOV recently challenged keen player Mick Schumacher to a more light-hearted match, and along the way got Mick to talk about pictures, his famous surname and how hes coping in his second season in F1, The story of Brabham's terminal F1 decline, A return to world championship glory with BMW turbo power was the prelude to a catastrophic slump from which Brabham could not escape. The Milton Keynes team does not have to cope with porpoising, and it remains by far the car that least exhibits this phenomenon. Mercedes do not plan on bringing any major updates to their W13 ahead of the upcoming 2022 F1 Imola GP, according to team principal Toto Wolff.
", Furthermore, there is also a revision to the lower deflector endplate which helps generate: "increased local load on the lower deflector inside the rear wheels, which in turn increases overall diffuser load.". Your email address will not be published. Mercedes are currently 39 points behind Ferrari in the standings, while Russell is 34 points off Leclerc. Quite extensive updates on this car for the teams home race, with a new floor and front brake ducts together with re-aligned turning vanes to fully exploit the new floor. On the F1-75 at Imola an evident porpoising was confirmed, but it doesnt seem to be a major concern for the Scuderias engineers. Mercedes in Imola tried to bring the first developments on a W13 that continues to create difficulties for the Constructors world champions, who suffered a lot on the Italian circuit, especially in qualifying. George Russell tried the higher downforce rear wing in FP1. Aerodynamically, the most significant change was the addition of a winglet to the keel splitter of the Red Bulls floor ahead of what is described as the tea tray area. Red Bull has also made some minor modifications to its car in a bid to try to improve its performance. And it is that gap to the top two that has team principal Wolff relatively pessimistic about their title hopes. After three of 23 planned races this year, Hamilton remains confident Mercedes will solve their problems with the W13. Ferraris Charles Leclerc was fastest during Hungarian Grand Prix practice on Friday, the 13th round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, ahead of McLarens Lando Norris. That has been accompanied by a tweak to the deflector endplate there. & "I'm optimistic that eventually we're going to get there, whether that's two races or five.". Follow RacingNews365 on your favorite social media channels! Mercedes have brought a series of upgrades for their car this weekend but Lewis Hamilton says they are unlikely to transform its performance. You are logged in. 2022 RacingNews365. The floor is also lighter, as part of a weight-saving programme throughout the car. The overweight cars of many teams is the first and easiest thing to counter in an attempt to gain tenths of a second on the lap. ", Mercedes has also reduced the floor curl ahead of the rear tyre to help "remove a small area of air flow separation and improve flow in the diffuser, which results in an increase of rear load. Red Bull has therefore decided to save a few grams by shortening part of the edge of the front wing, thus without occupying the maximum volume allowed for the shape of the endplate. In scorching hot conditions at the Hungaroring, Ferrari has a clear edge on the competition. Theres a long way to go. A range of new components had contributed to the weight-saving, but the biggest single saving came from a new floor, which was only slightly changed geometrically, but included a different carbon lay-up. The W13 continues to prove to be a difficult car to understand, which requires a lot of work on Fridays in optimising the set-up. The standout F1 2022 weakness Verstappen still needs Red Bull to address. A winglet has been added to the Red Bulls floor ahead of the tea tray area at the front of the floor. I also want to receive emails from associated partners. But even though Leclerc owned up to his mistake, how the race unfolded at the front set his costly crash in motion, Why F1's chess master isn't worried by self-doubt, Chess is a war over the board - the object is to crush the opponents mind, said chess world champion Bobby Fischer. "So as a motor racer I'd maybe say 40/60, as a mathematician the odds are worse against us. Norris not expecting McLaren F1 pole challenge in Hungary. Cool article, especially the table at the end with the changes and justifications. In the wake of some cooling compromises that affected Lewis Hamilton in particular at the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes has also added a third chassis side turning vane ahead of the sidepod inlet (seen below). WATCH: Vettel crashes out of final practice in Hungary, F3: Collet reigns victorious in wet Sprint Race as Hadjar assumes championship lead, FP3: Sensational Latifi leads Williams 1-3 in wet final practice in Budapest as Leclerc takes P2, HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from a wet third practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, WATCH: Running through Haas's huge suite of upgrades for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ferrari was the only Imola team not to have introduced any new features on their F1-75. "But this is motor racing and in motor racing, anything can happen. "If I look at it from a mathematical standpoint and probability, I'd probably say that the odds are 20/80. After removing the paint from the front wing in the first races, such as Mercedes and Williams, the car of Verstappen and Perez in Australia showed up with the first technical innovations, combining aerodynamic developments with the need to lose a few kilograms.
It has added a narrow span secondary wing on its floor keel, which is similar to competitor designs, to help try to improve downforce generation in this area. This is why it hasn't - yet. These geometry changes have been introduced in order to remove small areas of separated air flow, and by doing so we improve air flow to the rear of the car. After a rather sluggish start to their 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been waiting to see some performance gains to the Silver Arrows. But there are many other improvements we can make along the way. We are working on the issues we've got with the bouncing separately. The team said: "These vanes improve the air flow quality into the sidepod radiator duct and therefore improve the overall cooling of the car.". The top wishbone forward leg has a revised shrouding for aero benefit. Maranello is just a few kilometres from Imola, and it is strange to think that Ferrari has not introduced new parts to be tested on the track, also in view of the next events. For sure, no. The edge of the diffuser nearest the rear tyre has a reduced curl, designed to reduce airflow separation in that region. Despite the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard often considered a low-key affair, there was action aplenty this weekend which has strongly shaped the ratings. The rear brake ducts have been redesigned for more efficient cooling and enhanced aero. "There's been a lot of hard work over the Easter weekend in the factory to bring improvements to the car and get it ready to head to the next race, and that shows the team's dedication to turning the situation around. "I think often people see the race team on TV and think that's the entire team. "But we're working hard to reduce their advantage, and it's been brilliant to see everyone across the factories pulling together to achieve this. Benefit directly from all the benefits of your account: Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Verstappen backs call for F1 weekend media format changes, Hamilton explains reasons behind Chelsea FC bid, Haas says no surprise in Ferrari copy after Hungary upgrade revealed, Alonso: Future with Alpine F1 can be decided by 10-minute talk, The epic championship battle Ferrari stumbles have robbed us of, The old and new F1 ideas that Mercedes has brought to the Hungarian GP, Hamilton has "plenty left in the tank" after 300 F1 races landmark, What to expect from Mercedes as F1 returns to Silverstone, Vettel: New Aston Martin F1 rear wing not only reason for Hungary pace.
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