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Mercedes explains the six upgrades on its W14 F1 car

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After a disappointing start to the season with its new W14 Challenger, Mercedes has been working hard at its Brackley factory to make extensive changes to the car.

As well as seeking an overall downforce gain with its latest development, Mercedes has been keen to provide a more consistent and stable platform for its drivers.

That’s why, in addition to the obvious visual changes to the sidepods, the front suspension and floor have also been tweaked.

As part of F1’s rules, teams must inform the FIA ​​of any technical changes made to their cars and explain the thinking behind the changes.

Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes has formally informed the FIA ​​of six key changes it has made to its car, and why they have been made.

The changes are:

Front Suspension: The top wishbone front leg inboard pickups have been raised. This change improves the positioning of the wishbone wake, which in turn improves the initial airflow into the sidepods for improved cooling performance.

Mercedes W14 technical details

Mercedes W14 technical details

photographer: George Piola

Floor fence: A local load change occurred in the radian of the fence, which resulted in an increase in local load and improved flow to the diffuser. This should provide more rear downforce.

Mercedes W14 technical details

Mercedes W14 technical details

photographer: George Piola

Side box entry: Wide and tall sidepod inlets help improve airflow to the edge of the floor, increasing floor load and improving airflow to the rear corners.

Mercedes W14 technical details

Mercedes W14 technical details

photographer: George Piola

Side boxes and bodywork: The increased body width increases local downforce and also improves airflow to the rear wing assembly and rear corners.

Mercedes W14 detail

Mercedes W14 detail

Photography: Erik Junius

Tail: The increased camber of the rear wing flaps results in increased rear wing loads, which in turn reduces pressure on the rear of the car – thus increasing rear floor loads.

Mercedes W14 technical details

Mercedes W14 technical details

photographer: George Piola

Rear Brake Duct Winglets: A second cascade of cake tin winglets added to the additional winglet array increases the local winglet loading. This also reduces the pressure behind the lower suspension legs, increasing their load.

Mercedes W14 technical details

Mercedes W14 technical details

Photography: unconfirmed

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Alonso wouldn’t have won Monaco GP going straight to inters

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When the first signs of showers hit certain areas of the track, Alonso switched from his hard to the medium tyre.

He pitted again soon after the rain picked up and spread across the track.

Alonso retained his second place, but Clarke insisted he would still not be able to beat race winner Max Verstappen had the Spaniard made a single pit stop instead of two.

He stressed that Silverstone made the right decision using the information available at the time.

“We need to look at how the whole thing is going,” Clark said. “Obviously in a situation like this, when you really don’t know what’s going to happen, you try to stay out as long as possible.

“Honestly, we didn’t expect this much rain. So we thought it was just a short shower and it would dry out quickly because the track was so hot. And then usually, you’d say, well, let’s stay One lap, two or three more laps, but the tires are worn out a lot.

“And we saw that the temperature was dropping. So it was a bit of a risk. When the car came in with this information, we said, well, let’s install the medium. But then the car drove away, and it didn’t take long before we saw the rain. Really big. We had to come back.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 2nd position, spraying champagne on the podium

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, 2nd position, spraying champagne on the podium

Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures

Clarke admitted that the team did not expect the rain to intensify in such a way and did not think it would be enough for Inter to hang on.

“Honestly, we thought we could go through with medium because it dries out so quickly,” he said. “But then we misjudged the rain because it took a long time in this part of the track (the pit lane) to start to rain.

“There’s also this area, which has had the least amount of rain. So it might have been a bit of a miscalculation, because we also thought the middleware would wear a lot on this part of the track.

“At the end of the day it was a conscious decision to use the media. Then we saw after one lap that it wasn’t working. We decided to call him back.”

Clarke said Alonso didn’t lose the win: “No, I don’t think it lost. Because if we installed the middleware, Max would also have the middleware. And he has the gap. So I don’t think it will change a lot.

“I think in general we can’t get too greedy, we should look back and see what we were aiming for. We came here to be better than what we’ve done so far. I think we did. And I think Red Bull A little too fast for us.”

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Krack also noted that it was safer to stick to the call for skinheads than to make last-minute changes, which could lead to confusion.

“As I said, the calls are made in a very short period of time. Then you have to live with it and when you decide, you have to execute. Because otherwise you’d have two wet tires and two slicks on the car .

“So once you make a decision, you have to execute. Because anything you try to recover, it’s going to go completely wrong. We’ll look at it, we’ll learn from it, and we’ll try to do better next time.

“We have a good understanding between the drivers and the team. Sometimes the drivers say you let it go. In this case we decided to install the slick. Fernando was happy with that. Then he was also happy to get the middle man back on the field !”

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Ocon after podium finish in Monaco: 'Sitting on a cloud'

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Esteban Ocon had a fantastic weekend in Monaco. The Frenchman is on the podium again since winning at the Hungaroring in 2021.

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Kravitz sees 'prehistoric floors' of Mercedes and Ferrari after crashes

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In Monaco, everyone could see the floor of RB19 after Sergio Perez hit the wall in Q1. As a result, his car was hoisted over the wall, exposing the floor. Ted Kravitz told Sky Sports he was surprised by the difference between the floors of Red Bull and those of Mercedes and Ferrari.

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