Mercedes explains Belgian GP upgrades to sidepod, floor and rear wing

Mercedes has confirmed details of the changes it has made to its W14 for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, including the latest evolutions of its sidepods.

Having dropped its ‘zero’ sidepod design after the Miami Grand Prix, a new iteration of the design seen for the first time at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend includes a steeper ramp at the rear, intended to improve the flow of air at the back of the car.

In its submission to the FIA explaining its changes for this weekend, Mercedes says the steeper camber of its new sidepod “camber improves onset flow to the rear of the car, notably the rear wing.” Mercedes note that the increased downforce this generates also causes the rear wing to generate more drag.

However they have a further alteration to the rear wing specifically for this weekend’s race on one of the quickest tracks F1 visits, with several long straights. The team has a new rear wing design with a smaller upper chord which gives “less downforce and drag than standard”, says Mercedes.

Rivals Red Bull have achieved notable success by increasing the downforce generated by their car’s powerful floor, allowing them to run thinner wings and generate less drag, improving their straight line speed. This is clearly a trait Mercedes is hoping to recreate on its W14.

Mercedes have made other changes to their sidepods, increasing the height of the inlets so they can provide more cooling to its power unit. This bring an aerodynamic advantage, as they will be able to run fewer cooling vents on the car, further reducing drag. This is unlikely to be a significant problem in the cool temperatures at Spa this weekend, but will pay dividends at later hot races in Singapore, Qatar and elsewhere.

Although changes to the car’s floor cannot easily be seen, Mercedes say there is a “small” revision to the bodywork beneath in order to redirect the airflow. The team say the “volume distribution [was] adjusted to extract more local load from forward floor vortex system, which in turn improves flow to the diffuser.”

The team will have little opportunity to test its changes before qualifying for this weekend’s race. Only a single hour of practice is available during the sprint race weekend at Spa. That is also likely to be disrupted by rain, though dry conditions are expected for Sunday.

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Mercedes’ old and new sidepods

Pictures: Mercedes’ new sidepods at Spa

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