Formula 1
Mercedes still chasing answer for tyre temperature factor
Mercedes is working on multiple development steps to cure a tyre temperature characteristic with its W15 F1 car
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Aug 16, 2024, 11:49 AM
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Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Mercedes says it still needs time to fully get on top of the tyre temperature issues that are influencing its performance in Formula 1.
The German manufacturer has noted a trend this year where its W15 car shines in cooler conditions but, if temperatures go up, it struggles more compared to the opposition.
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The team suspects that this is a consequence of the car putting more heat into its rear tyres – which is good for getting them in the right operating window in the cold, but has consequences if they fall out the other end and get too hot on sunny days.
Mercedes thinks finding a solution to the issue is not straightforward, and it could take several development steps before the outfit gets itself to a place it is happy with.
Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said: “I think at tracks like Silverstone, we had a very stable rear end. In Austria and Budapest, we lacked stability.
“That's all down to the fact that we seem to be putting more temperature in the tyres than the others.
“We know we need to work on that area. We've got plans to do that, but that's not the sort of problem you can fix with a single aero update. It will be the result of quite a few developments to try and get on top of it.”
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One theory that has emerged about the tyre temperatures is that it could simply be a consequence of an overall lack of downforce – which triggers more sliding than on other cars.
But Shovlin is not convinced that is what is influencing the characteristics of the W15.
“If you looked at Silverstone, in terms of how much downforce our car has got, it can't be very different to the McLaren or the Red Bull because otherwise we wouldn't have been able to gently pull away in the first stint,” he said. “So we don't think that is the root cause of the issue.
“If you look at where people are running their cars now, they're all converging on a pretty narrow window in terms of what drag level you target, and inherently what downforce you get from that. So I think we're there or thereabouts in that regard.
“Obviously that's one of the key areas of development that will continue to keep giving. But it is an issue of just rear tyre temperature, and that's where a lot of our focus is.”
Asked if it was more a mechanical problem than aero, Shovlin added: “It's just to do with how you run the car.
“You might need mechanical tools to help you change how you run the car. However, you can achieve the same by affecting the aero characteristics through the speed range, and through the corner.
“We don't understand every aspect of what might be different with our car to theirs, but all we need are development directions that are going to improve it. We'll keep going at that problem until we get to where we want to be.”
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