As part of a revamp that Mercedes has made to its new W15 challenger, the team has moved to a push-rod configuration on its rear suspension layout.
Used to good effect by Red Bull and McLaren since the start of the ground effect era, this configuration offers aerodynamic advantages as it allows a more streamlined gearbox and better airflow through the floor and onto the rear wing.
The change by Mercedes to a push-rod layout had been expected to follow through automatically to its gearbox customers Aston Martin and Williams for 2024.
However, despite Aston Martin duly taking it, it has emerged that Williams has not opted for the latest Mercedes components and is instead sticking to the 2023 parts – which includes last year’s gearbox and the pull-rod layout.
It is understood that the decision, which was made by Williams many months ago, was reached jointly with Mercedes to help both parties.
For Mercedes, having to supply two customer teams will all-new gearbox and rear suspension layouts would have been an extreme logistical challenge.
Furthermore for Williams, there is a cost cap benefit in going for the year-old parts, which means that it can free up budget for other areas of the car where more performance can be extracted.
Speaking at the season launch earlier this month, Williams team principal James Vowles said that the choice of gearbox was not something that would have a huge impact on the squad’s performance for 2024.
Williams FW46
Photo by: Williams
“The gearbox is supplied by Mercedes, and obviously I know it very well, for many, many years,” he said.
“It’s a very reliable gearbox and it provides a good structure to work from. In terms of the significance to us, it’s just a known entity.
“Fundamentally, the gearbox isn’t the performance powerhouse that it used to be. It doesn’t make a tremendous amount of difference.
“It just defines not even the wheelbase, it just defines a little bit more where the positioning of the rear is and a little bit about the fuel cell.
“In terms of the rear suspension, there’s bits that we’re happy to talk about, but I’m going to save it for Bahrain, because there’s some interesting things to talk about where we’ve gone on rear suspension.”
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