GPWizard F1 Forum

F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: John S on July 05, 2019, 09:10:29 PM

Title: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: John S on July 05, 2019, 09:10:29 PM
In the video episode on Mercedes-AMG F1 twitter (3rd July) trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin answers question on Mercedes Spielberg lack of pace issue and it's a shocker - Radiators too Small!!!!
 …...I mean F1 races never take place in hot climates now do they?  :D

The bigger question though is can a solution be found or is this a real Achilles heel for the silver arrows in the summer heat of other European races?  :DntKnw:

"Fundamentally the car doesn't have big enough radiators," he says, "and that's something that we were a bit optimistic with, how much we could get out of the cooling system.
"It's underdelivered to what we hoped we could achieve," he admits, "and it's meant that we are carrying this issue where in the very hot races we will be struggling to keep everything cool enough.
"You can increase the amount of cooling you get out of the car by opening up the bodywork exits and in Austria it was 35 degrees, that actually put us at the upper end of what we could achieve just by opening the car up. So, we were on limit. When you get to that point you are really limited in your options. You can start to use lift and coast, which is where the drivers get towards the end of the straight and they back off the throttle. They then brake a bit later and you have a period where the car is just coasting into the corner, the engine is not doing work and you can lose a fair bit of temperature like that.
"But, as you saw in the race, we were having to ask our drivers to increase that to around 400 metres per lap and that is why they were so compromised on performance.
"You can also turn the engine down a bit, then it will generate less heat, but you've got less power and you are slower on the straights."

https://twitter.com/i/status/1146472964818382848

Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on July 05, 2019, 11:37:40 PM
Doubt they can change this without altering the bodywork, which alters the aero, probably not for the better.
Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: Jericoke on July 08, 2019, 04:53:56 PM
Is it possible to add some sort of pre cooled coolant during a pit stop? 

Or even spray down the radiators with something?  Lob in a chunk of dry ice?

If so, adding an extra stop per race might help
Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: Scott on July 08, 2019, 05:11:56 PM
Lob in a chunk of dry ice?

That would be hilarious, watching the cars “smoking” when they come in the pits...great for night races  ::)
Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on July 08, 2019, 08:04:02 PM
With Europe experiencing record heat, this could be an ongoing problem for Merc.
Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: Alianora La Canta on July 09, 2019, 12:05:52 AM
Is it possible to add some sort of pre cooled coolant during a pit stop? 

Or even spray down the radiators with something?  Lob in a chunk of dry ice?

None of these are legal - the only thing other than solid car components that may be added at pit stops is water, and that cannot be more than 10C below ambient.
Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: Jericoke on July 09, 2019, 02:54:07 PM
With Europe experiencing record heat, this could be an ongoing problem for Merc.

Feel free to ignore my making a political statement... but there is an odd sense of justice in a large car company sponsored by a large oil company being defeated by climate change.
Title: Re: Mercedes F1 W10 car doesn't have big enough radiators!!!!!
Post by: cosworth151 on July 09, 2019, 03:39:04 PM
Besides, dumping really cold coolant into a really hot engine is a recipe for disaster in the form of cracked blocks & heads. The solution to a problem like this could get into so many different areas of design (bigger radiators lead to bigger openings in the bodywork leads to changed aero.....) that it could cause a major shake up in the season and some more interesting racing.

.....we all hope!
SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal
Menu Editor Pro 1.0 | Copyright 2013, Matthew Kerle