Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

How Mercedes hopes to gain from its extreme F1 front wing

Mercedes has played down expectations for its Miami Grand Prix upgrades, but the Formula 1 team’s ambitions are clearly based on a pretty innovative front wing revamp.

Mercedes W13 front wing detail

Mercedes W13 front wing detail

Giorgio Piola

Giorgio Piola's F1 technical analysis

Giorgio Piola is the preeminent Formula 1 technical journalist. Born in Genoa, Italy, Giorgio has covered the F1 World Championship since 1969, producing thousands of illustrations that have been reproduced in the world’s most prestigious motor racing publications.

While at the back of the car, Mercedes has played things pretty conventional with its low drag rear wing, at the front it has taken things to the extreme with its endplate, which offers a hint at how it intends to push forward with the W13.

Having been plagued by the ill effects of porpoising since the campaign got underway, Mercedes has a clear intention of better managing the way the car behaves so it can run it lower to the ground.

Mercedes W13 front wing detail
Mercedes W13 front wing detail

It’s clear to see that the geometry of the front wing’s upper flap has been revised, with the section that had previously been trimmed back returning to its regular curvature (new wing specification on the left, old on the right).

However, it’s the outer corner of the front wing that the team seems to have placed the highest priority on overhauling.

Not only is the leading edge of the mainplane now upturned, there’s a novel approach being taken to the design of the intersection between the flapped section and the endplate in order to try to recoup some of the outwash that was lost with the new regulations.

Mercedes W13 front wing detail
Mercedes W13 front wing detail

The flaps have been swept forward very aggressively in the outer section, so the rear lower edge of the endplate is completely detached from the flaps.

This has required the team to add some metalwork into the structure to prevent the flaps and/or endplate from deflecting more than the static tests permit.

It’s certainly an interesting interpretation given how it will drastically alter the airflow's behaviour, not only altering the tyre wake but also in creating somewhat of a domino effect on the other flow structures downstream.

Given the extreme nature of the design and given how most teams had converged on very similar solutions up until this point, it is unlikely to have been considered when the regulations were formed and will undoubtedly have the other teams questioning their own development paths going forward.

Mercedes W13 rear detail

Mercedes W13 rear detail

Photo by: Uncredited

At the other end of the car, a new, lower downforce rear wing see the team continuing to use a more traditional mainplane design like we’ve seen in previous eras, with a flat leading edge, rather than the spoon-shaped design we've seen some of its rivals adopt.

The beam wing elements have been revised too, with a very similar approach taken, as the chord length of the upper element has been reduced near the outboard end in order to reduce the load and drag being generated.

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation

Related video

Previous article Hamilton gets two-race F1 exemption from FIA over jewellery
Next article McLaren F1 future safe as team rules out Audi sale

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe