Associate
Do they toe in or do they move closer together? Its very odd.
I guess its pretty much the same thing.
I guess its pretty much the same thing.
F1 Testing 2020: Week 1 Barcelona (19th - 21st)
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Soldato
Soldato
That's genius. My first thought was that it was brave of Merc to bring that to the first test and show it off, but then given that this system is intrinsic to the suspension of the car it's not the kind of thing that other teams will be able to copy quickly - or even at all.
As such, I'm sure the protests will be flying as soon as they land in Melbourne. It's obviously a driver controlled device, but the issue will be whether or not it counts as a moveable aero device. It seems the main purpose is to adjust the camber/toe of the front wheels, but the wheels themselves have a huge effect on the aero balance of the car. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this one.
As such, I'm sure the protests will be flying as soon as they land in Melbourne. It's obviously a driver controlled device, but the issue will be whether or not it counts as a moveable aero device. It seems the main purpose is to adjust the camber/toe of the front wheels, but the wheels themselves have a huge effect on the aero balance of the car. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this one.
Soldato
motorsportweek.com said:
The above suggest that it is illegal but if you take it specially as written it isn’t. Could this be another it’s not against the regulations but is against the spirit of the legislation.
Either way, an interesting concept by Merc.
Edit for clarification; If the system works as suspected then surely it doesn't contravene Article 10.2? As the 'test' stipulated says "with the steering wheel fixed" - which if you fix the Merc wheel in either the front or back position then the orientation is only defined by the suspension travel.
The powered device gets a bit trickier but I suppose you could argue it isn't powered - like power steering, for example is. Though as they banned the F duct under a moveable aero device - I guess it could be argued that this is powered by the driver.
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Associate
Can feel a protest from other teams coming on
Soldato
Hamilton has stopped using the trick now.
Can't wait for RB to start moaning
But I can see crofty talking about it for months
But I can't see Mercedes poring money in to this with out asking the FIA first.
Can't wait for RB to start moaning
But I can see crofty talking about it for months
But I can't see Mercedes poring money in to this with out asking the FIA first.
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Soldato
It's the toe of the wheel that gets changed - it's most noticeable on the front left wheel. You can see when Hamilton pulls or pushes the wheel that the wheel angles in/out slightly (when compared to the direction of travel - or viewed from the top). Camber angles the wheels in/out when viewing the car from the front.
I can't see it changing the undertray though - surely that would fall in to the moveable aero device?
Soldato
Also interesting to note that whatever this system does, Hamilton didn't use it on his fastest lap of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxly7xOxFh4&t=0s
I've just watched the second video a few times and I'm not seeing it. What I am seeing is that it is indeed the wheel and that the whole of the wheel is getting pushed in or out. The angle of the toe doesn't seem to be changing.
Soldato
Soldato
People originally thought it was camber when the first somewhat dodgy video appeared on Twitter (a screen recording), which I think would be against the regulations. Since proper screen captures have appeared it's easier to see it's changing the toe angle, presumably for less rolling resistance (which apparently exploits a hole in the regulations). There's a good picture posted on the Autosport forums here: https://forums.autosport.com/topic/214539-2020-f1-pre-season-testing/page-18#entry9005124
The issue for other teams isn't just the physical change needed to the suspension, but if it's hydraulically operated (which it looks like from the gradual change) then other teams will almost certainly need to make new chassis to allow for the bigger device, which will need new crash tests... it will take several months to do.
I suspect the FIA will just ban it for costs reasons.
The issue for other teams isn't just the physical change needed to the suspension, but if it's hydraulically operated (which it looks like from the gradual change) then other teams will almost certainly need to make new chassis to allow for the bigger device, which will need new crash tests... it will take several months to do.
I suspect the FIA will just ban it for costs reasons.
Soldato
Looking at right front, the back of the wheel doesn't seem to move much while the front does - so it does look it is toe being changed.
Edit: The screenshots in the above link show it too. Interesting if it exploits a loophole as you would think toe would be covered by all suspension movement that also covers camber and castor.
Man of Honour
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https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...ew-steering-wheel.78KDOPX7xRy9YtaFZPCKC4.html
Very clever and a game changer. Just shows how long Mercedes have been working on this car. Mercedes will as ever not show their true pace in testing, but it’ll take other teams a while to implement this.
Soldato
Very clever indeed, I wonder if they'll be allowed to keep it though.
Soldato
It's a little confusing reading that, it's like they're getting toe and camber mixed up at times.
Soldato
I assume it's for reducing tyre wear on the straights rather than for performance in the corners. A problem owing to the length of the car I wouild guess, they need the toe for cornering but on straghts it probably causes issues with wear. Potentially this is the best of both worlds.
Nice to see something new and interesting being tested anyway.
Nice to see something new and interesting being tested anyway.
Man of Honour
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Protests in 3, 2, 1...
I’m surprised they’ve shown it so early, but they’ll be well ahead in its implementation.
Soldato
Thank you Merc for bringing something new to the table when 2020 was supposed to be a cheap evolution of last year's cars (or for RP running last year's Merc). Put some spark into this season and drama already.