A Mercedes W11 more at ease with heatstroke?

The high temperatures had not been to the taste of Mercedes in 2019. For the German team, the cooling of its new car W11 was therefore of an important nature in the design of the single-seater which will be entrusted to Lewis Hamilton et Valtteri Bottas This year.

To meet this challenge, the engine department was obviously at the heart of the process to achieve maximum efficiency of the car, in all types of conditions.

“During the first two races, when it became clear that we did not have enough cooling capacity, we started working on operating the Power Unit at a higher temperature, admits Andy Cowell, boss of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains.

For this year, we are making considerable efforts to ensure that all Power Unit coolants operate at a higher temperature.

This increases the temperature difference between this coolant and the ambient temperature we are running in, increasing the efficiency of the cooling system. »

The chassis and aero aspect is also of great importance in controlling the operating temperatures of the W11. James Allison, Mercedes technical director, and his engineers therefore tried to find the best performance/reliability compromise, benefiting from the developments made by the engine entity.

« We created more area for radiators in the car – which is difficult to do in the middle of the season without incurring a lot of penalties, says Allison.

Between seasons you can do this and it won't cost you anything except a little weight. We also benefited from an investment that HPP made for us.

They worked to increase the operating temperature of the engine, which alleviates this parameter for us, because the hotter the fluid, the less radiator is needed to cool it. »

Hence in particular the areas upstream of the pontoons which have been very well worked on the W11, which will take to the track this Wednesday in Catalonia for the start of the 2020 winter tests.