Here is the thing, folks: when a team brings their first big upgrade in over three months, you expect a step forward. Unfortunately for Mercedes, their latest specification change simply did not bring the hoped-for boost in performance around Sepang. Now, the squad are currently deep-diving into the data to understand why the machine failed to deliver.
To be fair, the target was clear. The specification change was specifically aimed at improving medium-high speed downforce, an area where the car had fallen steadily further behind its rivals in recent races. When the competition is relentless, standing still is going backwards.
To achieve this aim, the engineering approach was drastic. The whole mass of the bodywork has been brought forwards to create more free volume ahead of the rear wheels. It is a striking packaging choice, entailing moving the cooling channels to create cannons between the sidepods and engine cover.
Sadly, the stopwatch did not care about the clever geometry on Friday. The team are left poring over telemetry and numbers to figure out where the disconnect lies between the wind tunnel and the asphalt. Let's see if they can unlock the beast before the weekend gets away from them.
