As it turns out, Red Bull was not the only 2022 contender keeping their cards close to their chest. After intense speculation, Mercedes have unveiled at Bahrain a race-one-spec chassis with a ‘slimline’ sidepod.
The extreme design has produced a sidepod which appears almost non-existent compared to some of the competition. What remains is merely a small bump on the chassis with a long vertical slit as the intake for the cooling system inside.
It has provoked appreciative comments about the boldness of the design and apparent quality of the construction, and a few murmurs that it might not follow the ‘spirit’ of the regulations. But what purpose does it serve, and how have Mercedes achieved this engineering feat?
In Formula 1 aerodynamics, controlling the front tyre wake has always been a key performance differentiator. The air disturbed by the front tyres produces an extremely volatile, ‘dirty’ flow, and if left uncontrolled it would ruin the aerodynamic performance of the…