In the initial phase of the year, we constantly heard from all sides about the importance of laterals. Perhaps there wasn’t a team that didn’t think about their concept for at least a moment. However, as soon as the individual units, specifically those from the front, began to change, suddenly everything was different and the new sidewalls did not bring anything world-shattering, nor were they supposed to. So where is the truth?
Many of the teams decided to modify the design of the sides, most following the example of Red Bull. The team from Milton Keynes also decided to inspire Mercedes at a certain moment of the year, which dropped the sideless concept. It was expected that as soon as the “copper” made changes, he would improve by at least a tenth or two.
Nothing of the sort happened, however, while similarly gloomy statements came not only from the Mercedes garage, but also from other camps. On the contrary, one of the few teams that openly admitted that the new sidewalls shot it forward is McLaren – or rather, its boss Andrea Stella, who called the competitors’ claims a lie.
“If there’s any team that says the bodywork and sidewalls don’t affect the current regulations, they’re lying, they’re just lying.” he spoke bluntly Stella. “Any aerodynamicist knows from simulations, wind tunnel and measured data that these two things really make the difference.”
“How different the individual sidewalls are in terms of shape and the way they interact with the floor makes the sport even more interesting. It looks like all the teams are going in the same direction at the moment, and I think that trend will continue in the future and even pick up momentum.”
“I think the wide sidewall concept has been the most successful, it seems to interact very well with the floor because the sidewalls feel a bit like miniskirts. From an aerodynamic point of view, the wide sidewalls help suction in the floor. It’s a concept you can’t do without if you want to maximize floor suction and car load. It’s very clear that everyone is heading in this direction,” concluded Stella.
2023-07-19 14:46:40
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