Recognising that Pirelli is likely to continue bringing the Ultrasoft tyre to a substantial number of Grand Prix weekends this year has meant that Mercedes has spent a lot of time on the mechanical side of the car to fix its early season struggles.
This has now paved the way for regular aerodynamic add-ons at each race as the team continues to hone in on the W08’s tricky ‘sweet-spot’.
A slender horizontal vane was installed on top of the rear-diffuser for Austria, split into two by the rear crash structure and curving at 90 degrees to meet the floor at its extremities.
This was joined by a pair of small fins (yellow arrow) attached further up on the rear-crash structure, orientated above the diffuser’s exit.
Both of these bodywork additions aim to control the airflow around the back of the car’s centreline, enhancing the performance of the diffuser.
Mercedes also chose to redesign its already distinctive mirror pods (below), moving towards what Ferrari and Williams have been exploiting this season by bending the mounting stalks first up and then away from monocoque.
The pods maintain a recessed region for the mirror itself to sit in, allowing the designers plenty of scope to shape the air around them.
The infrared cameras that used to face the front tyres appear to have been abandoned in this latest version although there are still small circular openings for some sort of thermal sensor.
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