MERCEDES WING FINS ATTRACT ATTENTION
Mercedes continued its pursuit of performance at the United States Grand Prix, adding upgrades to its W13 in its aspirations to claim an elusive win with its recalcitrant car. New additions to the floor were made to increase the overall load produced, particularly with regards to the diffuser area and floor edge wings, but the biggest area of interest was a series of fins perched upon the front wing.
Positioned along the upper two flaps, Mercedes was keen to stress that the fins were a collection of new slot-gap separators to improve rigidity, but this was not looked upon too favourably by the FIA – although Mercedes later said that it was not supposed to be run until this week’s Mexican GP anyway. “I think the gain for those bits is so small, is it worth the risk of falling foul of the stewards?” said technical director Mike Elliott.
Teams often like to use the slot-gap separators to direct the airflow over the wing outwards, but the new separators are much more aggressive in that regard. Judging by the shape and position of them, there could be multiple reasons for Mercedes’ willingness to use them, which plays into the revisions across the rest of the wing.
The outboard part of the wing also received changes to reduce the overall wing camber, which the pre-weekend technical notes said “reduces wing tip loading, improving onset flow to the front drum deflector, which in turn improves tyre squirt management and flow to the rear of the car”. The added fins can enhance that flow pattern, but should also be able to generate some vorticity to energise the flow.