Andrew Shovlin has detailed what all of Mercedes‘ new upgrades will do in the long run as the team try to find their way back to the front of the Formula 1 field.
The Brackley-based team were hoping to introduce these parts at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but flooding caused that race to be cancelled, leaving them no option but to bring them to the Monaco GP.
Lewis Hamilton impressed in FP1 for the Silver Arrows but George Russell was down in 15th which has not given any further indication as to whether they will work or not.
“We’ve got a new front suspension that’s a slight improvement aerodynamically,” Shovlin said via Mercedes‘ Twitter account. “It also gives us a little bit of flexibility in terms of how we set up the car.
“There’s a new floor, some new parts on cake tins and importantly those new side pods which has changed quite a lot of the cooling system underneath us.
“What do we expect from it? Well, we hope it’ll move as a small step in the right direction but we’re going to save our assessment of where we are until after Barcelona [the next race].”
Mercedes had no choice
In an ideal world, Mercedes would have a settled car for the Monaco GP but such is the desperation to get these new parts on the car, they were left with no choice but to integrate them as soon as they possibly could.
“You wouldn’t normally come to Monaco with a significant upgrade package but we’ve had no choice,” Shovlin added.
“It’s a notoriously difficult circuit to learn, to set up the car and to understand where you are on pace.
“But we’ve developed a program now to try and get those parts introduced as soon as possible and we’ll see what they can do on track.”
What updates did Mercedes bring to Monaco GP?
Among the raft of changes, Mercedes have also brought a new rear wing to the Monaco GP although this is more to do with the high downforce required rather than a change in aerodynamic direction for the future.
- Front Suspension: Top wishbone leg now lifted in order to improve onset flow into the side pods.
- Floor Fences: Changes in local load made to improve flow towards rear diffuser and increase rear load.
- Side Pod Inlet: Gone from low and thin side pods to high and wide. Designed to improve flow towards the floor and rear corner.
- Engine Cover: Bodywork has been widened around the engine increases downforce in the area and improves flow of air towards rear of the car.
- Rear Wing: Increased camber causing more downforce to be generated at the rear of the car.
- Rear Corner: Secondary winglets added. Makes more local weight to change pressure surrounding lower suspension parts.
