Mercedes’ Formula 1 team has introduced a significant mid-season upgrade at the Monaco Grand Prix, rolling out a completely revamped front wing aimed at improving their W15 car’s performance across all speed ranges.
The new front wing design signifies a departure from the team’s earlier season approach, showcasing a fresh philosophy to address the car’s inconsistent performance. The old wing’s narrow performance window forced Mercedes to choose between optimal performance in high-speed corners or low-speed turns, but never both.
Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, previously described their challenge as having a ‘duvet that covered either the toes or the head, but not both.’ Team boss Toto Wolff elaborated, ‘Shov is great with metaphors, and what we are doing now is probably solving that. I don’t think that the duvet is large enough to cover feet and head at this stage, but we’re getting there.’
The updated wing abandons the upper flap design introduced at the season’s start in favor of a full-span solution. This change narrows the inboard, non-moveable sections beside the nose and widens the adjustable sections of the upper flaps. The primary benefit is increased versatility in car setup, crucial for consistent performance across varied speed ranges.
Alterations include changes to the body and tip section of the nose, making the mainplane flatter across the central span. The outboard section’s leading edge has been adjusted for a tighter radius where it connects with the endplate, complemented by modifications where the flaps meet the endplate.
Notably, the second element now dominates and is reconnected to the endplate after flattening the lower part of the endplate. The semi-detached method for the two rearmost elements, introduced last season, remains but has been optimized. Additionally, a new winglet has been added between the endplate and adjuster to enhance the outwash effect.
Only one of these new front wings was available in Monaco, and it was given to George Russell. Lewis Hamilton will experience the new design at the upcoming Montreal race. Despite Monaco’s low-speed nature making it a less-than-ideal testing ground, early feedback from Russell and data collected were positive.
Shovlin also noted, ‘There is a reason teams do not normally bring update kits to Monaco, which is the very low-speed nature of the circuit. All the data we have seen though says that it was delivering performance, it was bringing a benefit in terms of how the car was feeling. George was happy with that, and he could feel that it was a step in the right direction. We will learn more in Montreal and then particularly when you get to a track like Barcelona with a wider corner speed range, you can really start to learn about it there.’
Mercedes’ introduction of a new front wing showcases their commitment to addressing the W15’s performance issues. While initial tests in Monaco were promising, upcoming races in Montreal and Barcelona will provide a clearer picture of the progress made.
Source: Motorsport
