During the initial Formula 1 pre-season test at Barcelona, Mercedes experienced a porpoising problem with their W13. While the team had noticed the issue during their shakedown run, they did not think that it was in a bad place after the Barcelona test and proceeded to continue running it. Let’s take a look at what caused this porpoising problem and how Mercedes responded to it.
What is Porpoising?
Porpoising is when a car’s ride height changes too much which can cause instability in the car’s handling. This can be caused by either an aerodynamic issue or an issue with the suspension setup. In this case, it was an aerodynamic issue that caused the instability in Mercedes’ W13 car during testing.
Mercedes Response
Mercedes chose to run the early development phase package for their W13 at Barcelona, which required significant ride height changes as well as metal floor stays to be added. Although they were aware of their porpoising problem before testing began, they opted to keep running the car and did not think that it was in a bad place afterwards. It is unclear whether or not they attempted to make any changes to address this issue while they were still testing or if they plan on making changes before upcoming testing sessions.
The Implication
The implication of this porpoising problem is that Mercedes may have difficulty staying competitive against other teams who have more stable cars on track. If they are unable to make necessary adjustments before continuing testing, then they could potentially find themselves lagging behind other teams on track due to their stability issues. It will be interesting to see if Mercedes is able to make any progress on addressing this issue before further tests take place, and how it will affect their performance over time as well as compared to other teams on track.
At first, Mercedes encountered issues with porpoising, which is an aerodynamic phenomenon that can occur when a car bottoms out due to its suspension setup being too stiff. The team struggled to solve this issue until they introduced their first major upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix in May.
However, even after correcting this issue, Mercedes still had another problem on their hands – suspension stiffness over bumps. This secondary problem meant that Mercedes could not make any additional improvements to the W13 until late in the season at Austin.
Mercedes’ Solution:
When asked about how they solved these issues with the W13 car, Chief Race Engineer Andrew Shovlin explained that it was difficult to perform sensible testing on their new car due to intense weather conditions at Silverstone during its shakedown run. As such, they had to rely on simulation and data analysis rather than relying solely on practical testing and trial and error methods. Ultimately, this approach paid dividends for Mercedes and allowed them to focus on improving other aspects of their racecar performance for better results.
Mercedes’ Ongoing Development:
As if that wasn’t enough, Mercedes also continued to develop their car by focusing on reliability upgrades and trying out different components – even during races! These developments helped them maintain an edge over their rivals throughout the season, which resulted in a ninth consecutive Constructors’ title and success both on and off the track.
It remains uncertain whether or not Mercedes will be able to address its porpoising problem before continuing tests and how it will affect their performance compared with other teams on track. However, one thing is certain—the outcome of these changes could determine if Mercedes is able to maintain its current level of competitiveness or fall behind its rivals in F1 racing for years ahead. As fans anxiously await more updates from Mercedes regarding this matter, only time will tell whether or not they are able to get a handle on these issues and come out ahead in future races.