Since the British GP, Red Bull and Ferrari have suspected that Mercedes has achieved performance. Now the opponents think they know what it is about. Red Bull has sent a request to the FIA.
It's looking for a needle in a haystack. Since the British GP, Red Bull has had the feeling that Mercedes has significantly improved its performance in the acceleration phases. Since that race, the balance of power between Mercedes and Red Bull-Honda has reversed on the straights.
While in the previous races Red Bull had significantly gained time on their championship opponents in all full throttle sections, it has been the other way around since Silverstone. Mercedes recently explained this with different wing settings and asserts that their engine has been delivering the same power since the beginning of the season and that nothing has been changed on the drive unit.
But that doesn't have to be a contradiction to Red Bull's latest theory. Accordingly, Mercedes has the same maximum power, but distributes it differently. Ferrari should also be on the matter. Both teams think they know how the world champion gained an advantage at the beginning of the straight.
The suspicion was stoked because, according to GPS data, the Silver Arrows gain massive amounts of time when accelerating from slow corners. In fact, at Silverstone and Budapest you could get the impression that the Mercedes are picking up speed like a torpedo in direct comparison with the competition, but are not necessarily faster at the end of the straight. Unless they have smaller wings on the car.
According to the competition, the secret is in the intercooler. The compressed air is usually cooled down from 100 degrees to the ambient temperature. However, according to a technical directive, the rules give a little more leeway. The lower limit is 10 degrees below the outside temperature.
In the partial load range, the temperatures of the air are naturally lower than at full load due to all instances. Since cold air is denser than warm air, proportionally more fuel can be burned. And that means more performance. Those who manage to reserve the proportion of cool air for the first part of the full load range have an advantage in the acceleration process. And that's where you win most of the lap time.
And that's how it should work. According to the theory of Red Bull and Ferrari, Mercedes manages to separate cool air from warm air for a while by cleverly routing the air between the intercooler and the plenum, thus gaining up to 20 hp in the initial phase of acceleration. Later the compressor only pushes in warmer air and the advantage dissipates.
At first, that would still be within the permitted range. The question is how far the air that is led into the plenum can be cooled and whether the sensor is mounted in a place where relevant values can be determined.
Red Bull has its doubts. It is believed that the sensor measures at a point that ensures that the temperature in the air collector is definitely above the required limit. Red Bull has now submitted an official request to the FIA. Some also speak of a complaint.
Bookmarks