SILVERSTONE, U.K. -- After four seasons dominating Formula One the unveiling of Mercedes AMG's new car for 2018 held huge expectation, but on first look might have disappointed.
Their W09 EQ Power+ looked much like the outgoing W08 but with a Halo and no shark fin. But to understand the lack of outward changes, we need to understand the issues the team had in 2017. As the new car is less about striding out into new design territories and more about making the most of the underlying package.
In 2017, Mercedes won both championships quite easily in the end, although for the first half of the season it looked like they were going to have to fight Ferrari all the way. Their complex car was fast, but had temperamental handling -- this flattered Ferrari until mid-season. After this point the technical team had learnt to understand the 'diva', as they called it, and were largely able to engineer out these flaws for the balance of the season. These issues lay not in the fundamental layout of the car, with its long wheelbase and low rake set up, but in the fine details of the aerodynamics and how the suspension controlled the cars attitude through corners.
Armed with this knowledge of how to tame the car, the development of the W09 went ahead, so the car we see bears a strong family resemblance to the outgoing car and much of its layout. Thus, the new car is exactly as long as the 2017 car, which is very long by F1 standards. The car has gained no obvious increase in its rake angle either, while the complex aero treatments remains. Instead the changes are largely beneath the skin -- with the mechanical parts -- and in time there will appear as new aerodynamic skins around the car, as the race-ready bodywork is fitted.
Of course, the car follows the change in rules for 2018 -- the driver protective Halo has been fitted and fitted with a simple fairing as is allowed within the rules, but soon a winglet will be fitted over it to help manage airflow over the rest of the car. Then, further back along the car, the shark fin has been reduced to the size set out in the rules.
As this stage not much else on the outside is very different to what's been seen on the car before, the slim nose is retained, with the cape vane mounted underneath, leading back to the extremely sophisticated bargeboards and conventional sidepod front. The latter of which have not been changed for Ferrari's high-top style design and due to the structural changes beneath are unlikely to change, but the rest of the aero is quite likely to heavily updated before Melbourne.
One trick is the slimmer rear shape of the sidepods, this so-called coke bottle shape, is slimmer and straighter. Gains in this area may be offset by the loss in potential performance from the Ferrari-style sidepod, adopted by both Red Bull and retained by Ferrari for 2018. Their differently packaged sidepods are not much slimmer, but give other airflow gains to the rear of the car.
Such shaping is only possible with the repackaging of the power unit underneath. Mercedes AMG HPP, the engine division of the team was upbeat about the major changes to the power unit, not just for power and efficiency, but also to incorporate some 'innovative' packaging to allow the slimmer rear end. A reduction in the number of engine elements allowed per driver through the year and the clampdown on oil-burning, the Mercedes power unit is still likely to be the best overall package on the grid this season.
The other key factor for Mercedes is to calm the cars handling; this is a two-pronged problem with the suspension and the aerodynamics. Its clear the car has revised suspension geometry, especially at the rear with repositioned wishbones. The raised rear wishbones are partly an aerodynamic trick, but the team admit that changes have been made in the geometry. Then the aero needs to be in tune with this revised suspension set up, keeping the car at the right angle to the track to gain the maximum downforce, but with minimal change in that grip as the car pitches and rolls.
This unseen facet will be critical for Mercedes, if the team are to be competitive at every track. With tough competition expected from Ferrari and Red Bull throughout the year, race wins cannot be lost for suffering handling or tyre issues related to the track or weather conditions. Only testing and progress through the season, will tell us if this target has been achieved.
Lastly, looking at the very rear of the car, the higher rear suspension has forced a distinct step in the exhaust tailpipes, which have to kink over the wishbone mounting. Sitting over the exhaust is a small winglet, many F1 fans may be mistaken for thinking such 'monkey seat' wings were banned for this year, but are in fact merely restricted to smaller zones above and below the exhaust tailpipe. By having this small wing over the tail pipe the exhaust plume can be used to direct airflow under the rear useful for when running steep wing angles at high downforce tracks.
We can't really form an opinion if Mercedes have done enough to maintain their position at the top in F1, there's more of the car yet to be seen and aspects that simply can't be gauged from the outside. But given the position of superiority they ended 2017 in, it's hard to think they will fall far from that position in 2018.