At the time, it was believed that the Brackley-based outfit had done it as a diversionary pre-season tactic to throw rivals off the scent about what it was really up to. After all, teams aren’t allowed to fit redundant suspension elements on their cars.
It has turned out, however, that what the image actually showed us was a clue to a new adaptable arrangement built into the Mercedes chassis and front suspension this year.
This design allows the team to move the inboard end of the suspension leg to better suit the requirements it needs for the optimum set-up around each track.
Most teams do have some level of freedom in this area, but we are usually talking about millimetres rather than the many centimetres of freedom that the solution on the W15 affords Mercedes.
As can be seen in the illustration, the hatch on the side of the W15’s chassis is larger than we are normally used to seeing.
It provides adequate room for different wishbone arrangements to be used, with the chosen location resulting in different kinematic and/or aerodynamic responses from each.
The arm’s longitudinal position is altered by this change, with the arm moved forward relative to the position used in the first two days of the test.
The arrangement used on day three of the test places the rear legs of the upper and lower wishbones in much closer proximity to one another, with the pair likely becoming more effective as a combined aerodynamic surface in this layout.
