Mercedes have been pegged back in testing, largely due to its failure of updating its front wing concept.
Ferrari have come out and brought in a new concept for the 2019 season, keeping in mind the change in aerodynamic regulations that have been enforced.
The outer edges of Ferrari’s front wing slope downwards, thereby helping to produce outwash.
Mercedes and Red Bull on the other hand have opted for front wing designs that are similar to the one’s in 2018.
Toto Wolff has addressed concerns going into the 2019 season, admitting to sticking to their own plans along with keeping their minds open with respect to front wing design.
“You need to be open minded,” Wolff said as quoted by Motorsport.com
“We have always had a different design philosophy to many of the other teams.
“We have gone longer than the other teams. We have never had rake in the car compared to some of the other teams. It is not because we believed our concept was superior in every angle, but we believe that the whole car power unit package was the best for us that way.
“Having said that, with new regulatory change, you need to be open minded about what the others have done. And if something functions better, every team at the moment will look at what the others have put on the car and try it themselves.” he added.
Wolff clarified that revamping the front wing design would take months and hence any decision on Mercedes’ part would require proper research and data crunching.
“These are things you don’t do from one day to another. If you were to think to change the aerodynamic concept of the car, it is not a matter of days or weeks. It is a matter of months.” Wolff explained.
Force India’s technical director, Andy Green has said that different philosophies was kind of expected with the new aero regulations kicking in.
“Teams like Mercedes have done their own philosophy for quite a long time,” he said.
“They’ve stood out as being different and they’ve won five championships. So there’s always room for another philosophy, and they’ve proved that over the years.
“We may end up with several, one or two different philosophies around the front wing and both of them could be equally as competitive. We’ll have to wait and see.” he concluded.
Do you think Mercedes would revamp their front wing design?
