Aston Martin receives a new mechanical upgrade from Mercedes, as there Brackley based team may allow them to use 2020 rear suspension.
Aston Martin last year participated as Racing Point was claimed to be the third-fastest car of the grid, and this year they may evolve with the new upgrade set to be given by Mercedes.
According to a Motorsport Magazine report, Mercedes is set to grant them their rear suspension used in 2020, which gave them a significant advantage over the rest of the cars and helped them win the championship.
The last year’s Racing Point car was alleged to be an identical copy of W10, but as per the analysis provided by Mark Hughes in the source, the W11 with its rear suspension technology provided Mercedes with a much better airflow between the rear tyres and the diffuser, enhancing underbody downforce considerably.
Moreover, it also moved back the car’s centre of aerodynamic pressure (the downforce equivalent of its weight distribution), supplying with a powerful rear-grip, which allowed Mercedes drivers to take an aggressive turn without disturbing the rear.
Racing Point will not evolve over last year’s Mercedes model, but this upgrade is a significant advantage over Red Bull, as they didn’t have an exceptional rear-end in 2020.
Other teams to follow suit.
Similarly, Alpha Tauri reportedly will be using Red Bull’s 2020 rear. Instead of 2019. Meanwhile, Ferrari is also reported to develop a new rear-end for 2021. Therefore, Haas, which is already using Maranello, may end up receiving the 2020 version.
And all the technology transfer might happen for free of cost, helping teams save money amidst the cost caps implemented from this year by FIA.
Can Aston Martin pull this off?
Despite allegedly copying Mercedes W10, Racing Point was still 0.5 seconds behind the original W10 timing from 2019. Though, it could still be attributed to the drivers’ capabilities.
However, Mercedes chief engineer James Allison was impressed with how much technology they were managed to replicate, despite comparatively limited resources. Racing Point constantly confessed that they never had the funds to replicate an absolute W10.
“One of the things that perhaps Racing Point deserves more credit for is a) the courage that they showed in doing it and b) the competence with which they’ve done it because they’ve done a good job in making that leap,” said Allison.
