F1: Mercedes still scratching their head over the W14

Mercedes Technical Director James Allison says the W14 is “annoyingly dead” in the middle of corners this year, and they are perplexed.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Since Chief Design Engineer Aldo Costa left Mercedes to semi-retire back in Italy working for Dallara, Mercedes has been a team rowing up a creek without a paddle.

James Allison was brought back to right the ship but that paddle is not big enough it would seem as Red Bull is always one step ahead of them.

In this story on the Mercedes F1 website, Allison says, “We are also trying to make the car more reassuring for the drivers when they initially turn in. It feels too reactive.

“And then when they get to the apex they have the opposite problem, where we want it to bite at the front and it doesn’t. It’s unstable when you first turn the wheel and then annoyingly dead when they get to the apex. We want it the other way around. That’s what we are working on.”

“We need to give the drivers a more reliable car and platform when it comes to the balance and feeling,” team boss Toto Wolff added.

“It’s not about absolute downforce but it’s for them to know that the car is going to be stable when they turn into the corner. That isn’t the case for now.

“It is a big focus for us, as it will give the drivers more confidence and with that will come more performance.”