Front wing F-Duct?

[Raz]

http://www.yallaf1.com/2011/10/18/me...duct-for-2012/

Mercedes invents front wing F-duct for 2012

Oct.18 (GMM) Mercedes has reinvented an F-duct style innovation and intends to debut it in the 2012 season, Auto Motor und Sport reports.
The magazine on Tuesday published diagrams of the innovation, which was apparently tested for the first time during free practice at Suzuka recently.
The new F-duct is confined to the front wing, not the rear wing as per the systems that were banned at the end of last season.
Air enters through the oval-shaped vent at the very tip of the 2012 Mercedes nose, is redirected via and inside the front wing supports and exits at the rear of the wing.
Unlike the 2010-style F-ducts, the system is not manually triggered by the drivers, making it legal.
Mercedes’ new idea is to redirect more undisturbed air through the floor of the car.
Auto Motor und Sport said McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is aware of the innovation and the head-start now enjoyed by Mercedes.
“If you make a start now, it’s already too late,” he said, predicting that other teams will nonetheless also experiment with the idea.

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wow! never thought of that!

[Hornet]

Very interesting idea.

[Homan13PSU]

Interesting that Merc would allow this to leak before 2012.

[Raz]

Interesting that Merc would allow this to leak before 2012.

That's what i'm thinking, but as whitmarsh said.. it's too late now

[Greig]

they sucked anyway so can't be that worthwhile

[scuderiafan]

they sucked anyway so can't be that worthwhile

this surely must be something else, as f-ducts are illegal, arent they

[Raz]

this surely must be something else, as f-ducts are illegal, arent they

this is a Passive f-duct, so it's not Illegal as it's not operated by the driver, all it would do is stall the front wing on the straights and, in theory means less drag when they don't need it.. but at the same time should allow for more downforce thru the corners as they'll be able to add more wing angle

[scuderiafan]

this is a Passive f-duct, so it's not Illegal as it's not operated by the driver, all it would do is stall the front wing on the straights and, in theory means less drag when they don't need it.. but at the same time should allow for more downforce thru the corners as they'll be able to add more wing angle

oh, so very clever by Merc there.

didnt they have this sort of thing in 2010? i wonder if it counts as movable aero.

[Raz]

oh, so very clever by Merc there.

didnt they have this sort of thing in 2010? i wonder if it counts as movable aero.

yeah on the rear wing.. never thought about front wing stalling.. if this turns out to be another "brawn" then boy! very very clever

[epiclyaddicted]

Given that Merc has a bigger performance gap to make up than Ferrari, I wouldn't be too worried!

Certainly an interesting idea, if they can make it work, but I doubt it'll have the kind of effect the double diffusers had for Brawn.

Plus, it's not like top speed is Merc's weak point or anything. How much top speed can you really add without making sacrifices elsewhere, i.e. gear-ratios, etc.?

[Raz]

[Greig]

Whitmarsh saying (if he really did say anything) about it being too late seems a bit weird considering teams got Double Diffusers and f-ducts up and running in less time than now and the new season lol

[Raz]

Whitmarsh saying (if he really did say anything) about it being too late seems a bit weird considering teams got Double Diffusers and f-ducts up and running in less time than now and the new season lol

Apparently, after reading the full article is that it's much harder to get it working, and seems like from the pics in Japan FP1 (where it was tested) it can suddenly stall the front wing when they don't want it to.. as it's passive..
if anyone's interested here's the link (it's German) but the pics are quite revealing..
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/f...2-4051930.html

[Greig]

so it's not all that good an idea at all then

[Raz]

so it's not all that good an idea at all then

yeah rather unpredictable.. but effort for trying something different

[Nova]

Teams are ingenious though at trying just about every conceivable way to get an edge...
Brawn is still hip...Mabey it was Costa's idea

[F1NAC]

Mabey it was Costa's idea

hahhahahahahahaahhhahha maybe

[bkircher]

How would that system neutralize the front wing aero at high speeds? To me it looks like it would just add down force to the front wing...

[burak karakutuk]

Aldo Costa has quickly shown his quality before he joins to Mercedes okay it seems interesting

[F1NAC]

Mercedes: Innovative Linked Rear Suspension



http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/

[REDARMYSOJA]

Teams are ingenious though at trying just about every conceivable way to get an edge...
Brawn is still hip...Mabey it was Costa's idea

Ferrari did have a "passive" F-duct for the rear wing. I don't think it was ever used except in practice a few times.

[Jose Lorca]

Mabey it was Costa's idea

[Raz]

Costa's still on gardening leave.. Geoff Willis just started on Monday.. Costa can't touch anything until End of Year

[Nova]

edited.

[Tifoso]

The Italian sterotype is a tad offensive, amico mio. Just sayin...

[Nova]

The Italian sterotype is a tad offensive, amico mio. Just sayin...