Analysis of the latest Mercedes: The detail in the W11 is terrifying

Mercedes-Benz Archive

F1 News

14 February 2020 at 09:06
  • Louis Shaw
  • Editor

Mercedes has unveiled their newest car and the W11 is in line with its predecessors in terms of design. However, there are a few changes that have been made and the team will hope that they have done enough to stay in front of the rest of the grid. 

Mercedes is terrifying

At first glance, the new Mercedes doesn't immediately stand out. Apart from the 'new' livery that we were already shown on Monday, not much seems to have changed. The front wing is still of the same design and the nose is still just as narrow.

On the side of the nose, we see the half skis again, which helps control the airflow, a similar design which we also saw on the RB16 from Max Verstappen. The suspension is also mounted high up on the wheel so that the airflow can run exactly as the engineers want it to.

Attention to detail

But it's back there that scares you. The bargeboards at Mercedes have increased in quantity. Because of the studio pictures from the side the bargeboards fall away, but zoomed in from the front the details stand out. Friday morning, the car will be presented and more photos will appear, but for now, the images are impressive. Of course the difference with Barcelona last year is big, but also compared to Abu Dhabi 2019 Mercedes seems to have made a big leap in that area.

At the back of the car it is also made as narrow as possible and (just like with Ferrari) the shark fin looks very big. Red Bull and McLaren have chosen for a smaller design and therefore more space for everything under the bonnet. The rear wing is fitted with a double suspension and between the rear wing and the shark fin we also see a T-wing.

This article was written by Tim Kraaij and originated on GPBlog/nl