Mercedes is working on multiple development steps to address the temperature characteristics of the tires with its W15 car.
The German manufacturer says it still needs time to fully resolve the tire temperature issues affecting their performance.
Mercedes has noticed a trend this year where its W15 shines in colder conditions but, if the temperatures rise, it struggles more compared to its rivals.
The team suspect this is a result of the car putting more heat into its rear tires – which is good for getting their set-up in the right working frame during the colder period, but has consequences if they’re not near the top and it gets too hot during the race.
Mercedes reckons that finding a solution to the problem isn’t easy and it may take a few development steps before they get to a place they’re happy with.
“I think at tracks like Silverstone we had a very stable rear end. In Austria and Budapest we lacked stability,” said race director Andrew Shovlin.
“It’s all due to the fact that we seem to be putting more temperatures into the tires than others.”
“We know we have to work in that area. We have plans for that, but it’s not the kind of problem you can solve with a single aero update. It will be a result of a lot of developments to try to overcome.”
One theory that came up about the tire temperatures was that it could simply be down to a general lack of downforce – causing more slippage than on other cars.
But Shovlin is not convinced that this is what affects the characteristics of the W15.
“If you look at Silverstone in terms of how much downforce our car has, it can’t be much different from McLaren or Red Bull because otherwise we wouldn’t be able to pull away gently in the first stint,” he explains. “So we don’t think that’s the root cause of the problem.”
“If you look at where people are driving their cars now, they all agree in a pretty narrow box in terms of the level of aerodynamic drag you’re aiming for, and inherently what downforce you’re getting 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 deliver. But it’s simply a rear tire temperature issue and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Asked if it was more of a mechanical problem than aerodynamics, Shovlin added: “It’s just because of the way you drive the car.”
“You may need mechanical tools to help you change the way you drive the car. However, you can achieve the same by influencing the aero characteristics through the speed range and through the corner.”
“We don’t understand every aspect of what might be different about our car than theirs, but all we need are development directions to improve it. We’re going to keep working on that problem until we get to where we want to be.”
