Did the F1 cost cap prevent Mercedes from solving porpoising last year?

Toto Wolff has pinpointed the reasons Mercedes were unable to solve their porpoising issue quickly during the early stages of the 2022 F1 season.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes’ 2022 campaign was dominat𓆉ed by the porpoising phenomenon - the boᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚuncing sensation on the straights.

Mercedes ultimately endured ℱtheir worst season since 2012, taking just one win across🌞 the entire 22-race season.

The eight-🤪time constructors’ champ𝔍ions couldn’t get on top of the issue, meaning they were unable to run their car at an optimum level, costing themselves much-needed downforce and lap time.

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Mercedes’ form slowly improved by the end of the year, with168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Lewis Hamilton and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:George Russell now optimistic of a strong F1 2023.

Reflecting on the porpoising issue, Wolff admitted the lack of tesღting contributed more than the restrictions in finances 𓆏due to the cost cap.

“Of course we could have injected more capital,” Wolff told AMuS. “But in the end you are limite🉐d by the few test days. The virtual worl𒐪d of the wind tunnel, CFD and simulations did not solve our problem. Our data simply did not show it.

“Bouncing cannot be simulate𝔍d in the wind tunnel. This, of course, misleads the simulations. There, too, it was learning by doing. Every step we took on the track, using the weekends as a test, brought us millimetres closer to our understanding of the car.”

Wolff also explained how the cost cap has had a significant impact on Mercedes, who have been one of F1’s bigg🍌est spenders over the years.

Lewis Hamilton (GBR), Mercedes AMG
Lewis Hamilton (GBR), Mercedes AMG

“If you have to take out 100 million, that means restructuring,” Wolff added. What does that mean? Analysing processes according to their costs, setting priorities and adjusting them. Before it was: ‘We do this and tha𝔍t’. Now the decision is: ‘We do t💦his or that.’

“We have g✃one th🐭rough a very difficult time to adapt. Our finance department has grown from 16 to 45 staff to reflect the processes.

“Example: When a piece of aluminium tube becomes a wheel carrier, we don’t just need to know what the tube costs. We need to understand the e൲ntire process behind it. From that you work out priorities – between the engineers and the accountants. That will give us an a🅠dvantage in the medium term. Everybody has to go through that. Even the teams that are under the budget cap today.”

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