Mercedes and the recurring problem of aerodynamic drag

Mercedes will have experienced two evils this season: the first, that of porpoising, and the second, that of aerodynamic drag. Since the start of the championship, the Silver Arrows have been one of the slowest cars on the grid. A major flaw which again played tricks on the German team last weekend at Suzuka. Blocked behind Esteban Ocon for 40 minutes, Lewis Hamilton was never able to find the opening on the Frenchman, even though he was much faster in the curves.

Andrew Shovlin, head of engineering at Mercedes, explained the reasons for the W13's difficulties in a straight line. “We have decided to remain at our highest level of support, confided the British engineer. Part of that decision was because it gave us the best lap times in race conditions where we were going to have high degradation in the dry, but we also saw this rain coming on Sunday and we thought that in a race in the wet could be an advantage. »

Mercedes missed DRS…

Problem: the DRS was never activated and despite the rain, the deficit in top speed was too great to hope to overtake at Suzuka. “Overtaking was very, very difficult and perhaps the right decision would have been a lower downforce setting. But basically one of the things we need to improve on the car for next year is to make the car have more downforce with less drag, and then we can race with these less pointed wings lighter. and stay competitive in the corners. »

On a track where it expected to be in difficulty, Mercedes could have achieved a regular podium in these wet conditions. Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were not able to move up the rankings as quickly as expected. The Briton came up against a fierce Esteban Ocon, who brilliantly defended his 4th position.

No victory for Mercedes this season?

According to Andrew Shovlin, the seven-time world champion could have overtaken the Frenchman if the race had lasted a few more laps. “We seemed to have better degradation, Esteban [Ocon]'s tires would have lost pace. Maybe that would have given us an opportunity to pass. But the big problem was that the DRS was not activated, our straight line speed was not as high as that of theAlpine and on a circuit like this, the only way to really overtake is to do it on these straights. »

Still without a victory in 4 Grands Prix at the end of the season, the specter of a white season for Mercedes is rapidly approaching. With a W13 in difficulty on the fast circuits, it is difficult to see the Silver Arrows winning by the end of the championship… 

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