Why Mercedes W15's new front wing could be the center of interest for rivals

The Mercedes W15's new front wing is going to attract a lot of interest in the coming weeks due to its unique design. The team recently revealed its 2024 F1 challenger and one of the major changes they implemented was on its front wing.

The F1 car comes with a brand new front wing that mainly rests on the second element (flap) in the front. The fourth element (flap) of the W15's front wing is the point of interest since it is uniquely designed by Mercedes engineers to reproduce an aerodynamic phenomenon called the Y250 vortex.

The Y250 vortex was first tested by F1 teams in 2009 when they were trying to figure out whether this kind of airflow would work on the cars or not. It is essentially a vortex created through the inner side of the four front flaps. The airflow then goes through the bargeboards and the underbody. The air was controlled by twisted vanes and skirts of the flaps.

The '250' in the vortex's name was because F1 cars before 2021 were allowed to have a fixed shape of the front wing that went 250mm on either side from the center.

This kind of airflow was permitted up until 2021, which allowed teams to create loads on the front end of the car. In 2022, however, the new regulations were made to tackle many effects, including the Y250 vortex.

Hence, when the new front wing of the Mercedes W15 was observed, it was quite surprising to see its design, since it can create the Y250 vortex effect to some extent. There are strong chances that rival teams will look into this front wing development from the Silver Arrows and act upon it.

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Mercedes' technical head shares areas in which W15 has improved

Mercedes Technical Director James Allison recently spoke about areas where the W15 has improved from its predecessor.

Speaking in an interview released by the team, Allison initially mentioned how the team has tackled the unpredictable rear axle of the car, something which both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have complained about. He said the team has also worked on making their 2024 F1 car less draggy, along with several other smaller improvements like the DRS effect, pit stop performance, etc.

He said:

“A big focus has been on improving the previous car’s unpredictable rear axle, which the drivers often referred to as spiteful. We have worked on that to try and create a car that is reassuring to the drivers."

He added:

"We’ve also worked hard to create a less draggy car, and to add performance in the corners. There's also been some housekeeping on areas in which we had room for improvement, including the DRS effect, and pit stop performance."

The Mercedes W15 was revealed on February 14, 2024. Soon after the car launch, the team shared clips of the car's first shakedown at the Silverstone circuit.