Mercedes can’t afford a ‘trial and error’ approach

Mercedes’ 2022 car is unchanged for this weekend’s Melbourne Grand Prix compared to the previous event in Saudi Arabia, with the Silver Arrows trailing behind the leaders. Red Bull and Ferrari Compared to what was seen in the first race in Bahrain.

The W13 He has a serious problem with hunting porpoises at full speed, in addition to the difficulty of weight and the great strength he left mercedes With the highest qualifying position for 5th place Lewis Hamilton in the first race.

The team is confident it can improve the pace of W13 – it’s also struggling to find the optimal setting point – but Russell made it clear that he is waiting to fit the parts he has “full faith and confidence that he will do what we expect.” rather than offering beta updates to each race in an effort to cure his existing ailments .

“We are far behind Ferrari Red BullRussell said at the pre-F1 press conference in Albert Park on Friday.

“Maybe we were behind them in Jeddah, and we understand why. But obviously, I think when things got better or better improved even further. [como lo fueron] In Bahrain, we were still 0.5-0.6 behind.”

“So we have to bridge that gap, but there is nothing substantial this weekend that we can do.”

It will take time and I think we have to be disciplined and patient, because we are so late and because of the cost cap we can’t afford to do things and ‘trial and fail’ on race weekends. “

“We have to trust the process and make improvements when we have full faith and confidence that they will deliver the results we expect.”

“And that will be several races before we start to see it.”

Although there are no updates – this is also the case with files AlphaTauri and Alfa RomeoAccording to official FIA car presentation documents for the Australian event, Russell is confident Mercedes will be “closer to the best cars than they were in Jeddah”.

“But obviously we were probably second to pace in Jeddah,” he added.

“So there is nothing that will put us in competition with these guys, we just have to make sure to maximize our results, which are the third fastest team, making sure none of the cars in the middle of the grid are left behind. Come between us.”

“And just capture those points as much as you can. That will be the case for a number of races.”

Russell dismissed the suggestion that there was internal frustration at Mercedes with its current situation, insisting “it’s more optimism and enthusiasm” because “we think there is a solution and we think there is plenty of time to get every lap on the table.” Once it is improved.

He continued: “We’re not here at a loss and don’t understand why we’re off pace – we just know why we’re off pace and we know what we need to work on to improve that.”

“And having that knowledge, that understanding of what the problems are and that we can solve them is a very exciting place. It gives us all something to look forward to.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Photography: Steve Etherington / motorsports pictures

Later in the press conference, Hamilton said he was “very excited to get into the car” to see if the W13 was a better fit for Albert Park than for Jeddah where it was ousted in the first quarter.

“I was very happy this morning,” he added. “I’m really looking forward to getting in the car and trying this new track, I hope you feel better here this weekend,” said the driver, who finished seventh in the first free practice.

“In the end we didn’t bring any improvements – the car is generally the same car as the last race.

“But, with every little race we’re making little bits of improvement and hopefully it’s a little bit better here. Also, we have all four of the DRS regions, so hopefully we can be more competitive here.”

Among the teams that have chosen to bring the updates to Melbourne, Red Bull has installed an updated front wing final panel that features changes to the front and top edges to be more aft and lower respectively.

It aims to “maintain aerodynamic performance while reducing package size and weight,” according to the FIA ​​document announcing the updates, and Red Bull will evaluate its results this weekend.

Ferrari has upgraded its diffuser with a “packer (around the car’s centerline) diffuser” in hopes of improving rear downforce and cornering stability.

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36

Photography: Mark Sutton / motorsports pictures

McLaren has increased the side visibility of the rear spoiler panel, with the goal of better aerodynamic performance in the rear of the car due to increased suction power on the lower wings and improved flow control at the rear corner.

The Alpine features a “larger exterior floor fence and realigned front floor fences compared to its previous design” to try to increase downforce and improve overall flow to the rear of the vehicle.

The team’s new blue color also features a redirected rear brake drum compared to its previous design that’s intended to improve local loading around the rear wheel and diffuser, but it will only be a test item during Friday’s team practice.

Aston Martin has reverted to its previous rear wing “with a higher fall, particularly at the ends” as this increases downforce and drag on the rear wing that it considered favored on the Albert Park circuit.

The green team states that the configuration of the pavilion “will be confirmed on Friday due to the new design”.

Just like Ferrari, Hass I’ve done an update to the diffuser that assumes a different size distribution in this segment, hoping it better modulates the flow that is emitted from the sliding surface, and thus helps to better manage the diffuser’s performance.

The team also says it will “take several measurements in practice 1 to improve our understanding of the flow structures around our vehicle.”

Alex Albon, Williams FW44

Photography: Mark Sutton / motorsports pictures

Williams is the team with the most updates for the Melbourne race, with changes to the wing radiator, floor lip, front wing and front brake duct lettering.

The beam wing modification is intended to increase downforce and drag, while the change to the ground edge is a reaction to the damage the team sustained in the Jeddah crashes, with a physical change made to reduce ground edge deflection under high downforce.

The front wing flap has been changed to be less tapered compared to its Arabian setup, and is intended for better front balance as well as working with the new rear wing if Williams chooses to leave it after practice.

The change to the front angle is to alter the airflow fed to the bottom of the FW44 to improve overall downforce across the length of the vehicle.