Mercedes W12 technical focus
The car that’s most likely to be this season’s pacesetter has had a long gestation, although significant changes aren’t being revealed right away FRONT END
Mercedes pressed pause on its 2020 development early to steal a march on 2021, but it seems that the team is trying to keep a lid on any wide-scale updates for the time being. At the front, the car retains the split-end front-wing element that the team has used over the past couple of seasons, shortening the length of the top element to satisfy the five-element regulation mandated by the rules. The team made sporadic appearances with a more conventional frontwing design at selected events last year, so this can be generally interchangeable. The frontbrake ducts also appear to have been flipped upside down, with the widest part of the inlet now having dropped to the bottom.
BARGEBOARDS AND FLOOR
The bargeboards also feature a few differences in structure over last season. The leading edge, where ‘F1 W12’ features, appears to have been shuffled further forwards, and has grown slightly taller to interact with the small fin set back behind the top wishbone. The upper horizontal ‘boomerang’ features a slightly upturned tip too, allowing for a different placement of any vortex generated and, behind that, the turning vane attached directly to the sidepod now extends all the way to the floor. Unsurprisingly, the new floor has been kept relatively hidden; it does seem to feature a small rise in the rear corner, as many of the other launched cars have done, but further changes have been kept in the dark.
GOODBYE DUAL-AXIS STEERING
The W12 is shorn of DAS, which has been banned for 2021. The removal of the toe-change device controversially added to the W11 means the team has to get on top of warming its front tyres in a more traditional manner. DAS had helped the team enjoy monstrous form in qualifying and on race restarts with improved tyre temperatures, so the team will have to recoup that passively. One area the team needs to get on top of is the change in tyre construction: Mercedes notably overheated its rear tyres in last year’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone and will need to find a balance between warming them up quickly and finding a way to dissipate excess heat.
POWERTRAIN
To extend its current advantage over the field, Mercedes’ High Performance Powertrains division has once more developed a new power unit. A few weeks ago, new engine chief Hywel Thomas suggested that the team was facing a few teething problems with it although Mclaren, having resubscribed to the Silver Arrows’ powertrain delivery service, suggested that it hadn’t encountered too many issues at this stage. Regardless, Thomas explained that the new engine has some “innovative” new elements to it. “Our new product is a characteristic Mercedes-amg power unit, but we’ve worked hard to take the next development step,” he said. “Stable regulations mean that it’s getting increasingly challenging to unlock additional performance, so you need a focused approach. We’ve also got some completely new innovations that will be in the racing PU for the first time.”