2022 Formula 1 Thread

[DLSTR]

The 2 pics I attached - first from nose on has small illuminated area on the ground. I could see this yellow glow as LH approached a turn on TV. I was surprised it was not sparking. Thats the first sensor. The second shows it attached to the floor on the outer edge.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/th...-plan/9835259/

The glowing light that offered clues about Mercedes’ F1 recovery plan
Eagle-eyed observers of Formula 1's Australian Grand Prix could not help but notice a strange glowing light coming from beneath Lewis Hamilton's car at points of the race on Sunday.


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By: Matt Somerfield
Co-author: Giorgio Piola
Apr 12, 2022, 7:40 AM
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But rather than this being some funky idea for his W13 to look better, the light was actually a working sensor, and the result of the ongoing push by Mercedes to get to the bottom of its porpoising problems.

Mercedes believes that if it can understand what's needed to stop its 2022 F1 car bouncing on the straights, then that can help it run it in a better set-up window, which will deliver an automatic step forward in performance.

The difficulty is that so far Mercedes has not yet got to the bottom of the triggers for the porpoising, and exactly what are the factors that cause the phenomenon to appear.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admitted that there were some hidden "gremlins" with the car that needed to be found, and things were especially confusing because no matter what set-up changes were made over the Melbourne weekend, they appeared to have little impact on the problem.

The porpoising appears to be less frequent in the races, and in a bid to try to comprehend why that is, Mercedes elected to keep on an optical rideheight sensor for the duration of the Australia weekend on Hamilton's car.

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Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The sensor, which emits a light when switched on, measures the ride height and the car's trajectory in relation to the track, so can be used to deliver answers on what exactly is happening on straights and in corners.

These devices are quite commonly used in F1, but normally are only fitted in free practice sessions because they do add extra weight to the car, believed to be somewhere between 1kg and 2kg.

Mercedes felt, however, that the benefits of keeping it on the car for qualifying and the race for the extra knowledge gained, would outweigh any downside in having extra ballast.

As Lewis Hamilton explained to Sky Sports F1: "I've got something on my car that makes it a little bit heavier, but it's not a huge, huge step. Hopefully it will enable the team gain more information in the race."

But the light sensor was not the only data gathering exercise Mercedes conducted, as during some of its free practice runs, it added further optical rideheight sensor housed within pods on the edge of the floor.

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Mercedes W13 side detail

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images