by After a disappointing period since Formula One’s summer break, George Russell’s front row start at the United States Grand Prix sprint race has raised hopes that a new upgrade package is just the ticket.
After some uncertainty over a spa floor that was taken off, put back on and then taken off again, Mercedes now seems to be in a much better position.
The changes introduced by Mercedes at the United States Grand Prix are extensive and designed to work in unison as they extend from the front wing to the entire car.
A new flap distribution in the span direction means that the front wing offers a different performance ratio between washout and downforce generation.
In keeping with what was characteristic of this regulatory period, the upper wishbone cover was also adjusted.
Mercedes W15 detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Further downstream, the team switched to an overbite sidepod solution, keeping the P-shaped intake at the bottom (albeit moved back) and adjusting the subsequent bodywork accordingly.
This obviously impacts the performance of the airflow around the sidepod itself, including the undercut.
Details about the Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
To increase the performance of the floor and front fences, the innermost of which has also been modified, the edge wing now features six planks instead of five on the upward facing surface.
Interestingly, the latest addition, mounted to the front of the edge wing, has more of the appearance of a hook that folds round and back under itself to collect and coil airflow.
Additional cooling capacity has also been added further downstream, with outlets located around the front leg of the upper control arm.
Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ director of track engineering, explained that while the surface was new, it was not a dramatic departure from what the team had previously used.
“I mean, it’s not a fundamentally different concept,” he said. “It’s an evolution of this Spa ground.”
“It’s not the only change to the car, but hopefully it’s a big enough step that the performance will show.”
When asked if this upgrade could be classified as a corrective evolution of the previous spa change that didn’t work, Shovlin replied: “No, because in the wind tunnel they simply continued on a further and further downward development path.
“And I think a lot of our challenge isn’t really due to what we’ve done in wind tunnel development. But the aerodynamicists just worked continuously.”
“The packages are simply set at a defined point in time when you commit to reducing CO2 emissions. But from their perspective, it’s just things that change every day.”
