Mercedes believes the new front wing used at Imola is better than the previous one, but the team is holding off judgment on the rest of the updates introduced at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit. Further investigation will be needed to understand whether these changes played a role in the W16’s race struggles.
Mercedes arrived at Imola with several updates for the W16, including a new front wing, a flap that appeared on two arms of the front suspension, and a more streamlined engine cover with gills to improve cooling for the Mercedes power unit during hotter races.
The front wing was introduced earlier than originally planned (Barcelona, where FIA flexibility checks are expected to be stricter).
According to the team—through the words of team principal Bradley Lord (who stood in for the absent Toto Wolff)—the new wing was debuted at Imola’s Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit because it offered more performance than the previous version.
“We brought a new front wing here because it’s more performant than the old one, so we want to improve the car’s performance as quickly as possible.”
Regarding the aerodynamic updates linked to the suspension and engine cover, Lord held off on giving a verdict. The team has decided to dig deeper into the data gathered at Imola to determine whether these changes actually benefited the W16 or if they may have contributed to the Brackley car’s race difficulties over long runs.
“As for the feedback on the updates, so far it’s been relatively straightforward during the weekend, and obviously now, with the race data, we need to analyze and understand what effect the different changes we made had—whether any of them potentially, let’s say, triggered a decline in race pace.”
“At the moment we don’t think so, but of course we need to be open-minded, since we weren’t competitive this afternoon. So yes, that’s something we’ll be examining in order to make the right decisions moving forward.”
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