F1 News
Mercedes can improve the almost perfect W11 for the W12 by changing this part
How do you make an almost perfect car even better? That is the question Mercedes will be asking themselves over and over again to stay ahead of the competition in 2021. So far that has always been successful, but is it also possible with the W12?
The Mercedes lead
Mercedes have been in a class of their own in Formula 1 since the hybrid era. Due to the lead the Germans had with the engine, they are miles ahead of the competition. Ferrari and Red Bull Racing have come closer and closer in recent years, but every year Mercedes outsmarted the competition.
In 2020 it was no different. Mercedes astonished friends and foes during the winter test with the DAS system, with which the position of the tyres could be changed. No team had thought of this, but the seven-time world champions did. Where you would expect people to keep doing the same things at the top, Mercedes keeps reinventing itself.
The Silverstone Debacle
While many will hope that Mercedes cannot grow much more, this should not be assumed too easily. With a simpler floor and diffuser, the engineers will again face a challenge in 2021 to find more downforce, and in recent years Mercedes have always been the best to deal with these rule changes.
The Mercedes W11 was of course almost perfect in 2020, but in addition to the rule changes, the team will still try to remove the weaknesses from the previous design. The biggest weakness was during the second race at Silverstone when Max Verstappen apparently whistled past the Mercedes duo.
Mercedes generally has more problems than the competition in warm temperatures. At Silverstone, this was most evident in 2020 during the two races at Silverstone. Verstappen won the second race with much less wear and tear, and during the first race, Hamilton crossed the finish line despite a flat tyre.
The W11 was just about perfect
With a simpler diffuser and floor, the aerodynamic pressure will decrease in 2021, but Mercedes will do everything it can to regain that grip. However, it is important for the W12 that it can now handle the tyres better so that a debacle such as in Silverstone can be avoided.
Furthermore, it can be said that not much work needs to be done on the W11. It was a car that could handle long straights, fast corners and slow corners on the track. In 2021, Mercedes will have to do without DAS, but who knows, they might conjure something out of the hat again.
This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.