Seeing Lewis Hamilton spinning in an attempt to get the Mercedes ahead of everyone, in that leading position he has accustomed us to in recent years, is something that makes your eyes roll.
It is a scene that was repeated several times in the three days of the only collective test session for which it is no coincidence: the W12 derives from the world champion black arrow, but it seems to have lost some thaumaturgical qualities with the change of the aerodynamic rules. imposed by the FIA.
Brackley’s technicians had made it known with a touch of pride that they had found almost all the cargo lost with the regulatory cuts in one winter, but having conceived an extreme machine in some concepts is not proving to be an advantage, but the cause of some troubles that in photocopy are reverberating also on the “cousin” single-seater, namely the Aston Martin.
Our technical expert, Giorgio Piola, he had warned us saying that both the W12 and the AMR21 have hot air outlets reduced to a minimum, while the Ferrari, just to give an example, at the end of the bellies has rather generous megaphone openings.
Mercedes W12, detail of the diffuser
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari SF21, detail of the diffuser
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Aston Martin AMR21, detail of the diffuser
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The Rossa did not have serious reliability problems, grinding kilometers as the Mercedes did in the past, while on the black arrow, after the failure of the gearbox of Valtteri Bottas on the first day, they had to take measures in the hope of continuing the work without further problems .
The lack of cooling overheated the gear oil which broke. The same trouble that blocked Vettel’s Aston Martin. And it matters little that there was a 2021 transmission on the W12, while the “verdona” inherited the 2020 one from the W11. The result was the same: I change ko.
To avoid further failures, the Brackley technicians decided to significantly slow down the shifting time, trying to reduce the use of this component to the limit, but they had to penalize performance, waiting for a different engine hood to arrive that allows “Breathe” the mechanics better.
A change that will not be easy to make in time for the Bahrain GP, but some temporary solution will certainly be found and will also have to be turned to Aston Martin which today also suffered some problems with the Brixworth power unit.
The Mercedes looked like it was running with the handbrake on and, almost certainly, and in a conservative engine mode, using a low-thrust map.
The fact is that Lewis tried to compensate for the unexpected shortcomings with his talent, while Valtteri Bottas preferred not to look for trouble, limiting himself to carrying out his homework, without infamy and without glory.
The black king, on the other hand, unwilling to give way to Max Verstappen and Red Bull, tried to strike a blow, but only remedied a series of disappointments. What happens to Mercedes?
Lewis Hamilton’s car, Mercedes W12, is loaded onto the tow truck
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Beyond the reliability problem that also involved the Aston Martin, a difficulty emerges in the management of the W12, poorly balanced aerodynamically with that rear end that starts slapping without any warning. But the feeling is that the trouble does not come from behind: that would be the effect and not the cause.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Lewis, with close friends, would have complained of too light steering that would not allow him to draw the usual trajectories, causing unpredictable behavior of the car and annoying instability.
Having given up the traditional shake down at Silverstone was a mistake, otherwise certain defects of the W12, which are not discovered in the simulator, would have emerged immediately to look for remedies. Now it remains to be seen if there will be time to straighten the shot for the first race.
Make no mistake: the black arrows will still be the bogeyman of the world championship, but no one could have imagined an uphill start for the world champion team.
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