Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+

The Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ was a Mercedes-Benz Formula One racing car designed and developed under the direction of James Allison, Aldo Costa, Mark Ellis, John Owen, Loïc Serra, Mike Elliott, Jarrod Murphy and Eric Blandin to compete during the 2018 Formula One World Championship.The car was driven by four-time World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom remained with the team for a sixth and a second season, respectively. The car was the successor of the Mercedes AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+, continuing the approach with increasing the exposure of Mercedes' electric road car models, whilst AMG was included to reflect the relationship between Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Benz. The chassis also continued its numbering as F1 W09 to represent the ninth Formula One car that Mercedes had constructed since 2010. The car made its competitive début at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2018 season. After participating in 21 rounds of Grand Prix racing, the car made its final competition appearance at the season finale race – the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, before retirement.

Design and development

The philosophy of the Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ continued from its predecessor, having an identical wheelbase of 3,726 mm (146.7 in), making it as one of the longest wheelbase cars in 2018. However, Mercedes pushed its development in the direction of higher rake, up from 0.9 degrees to 1.2 degrees. Although the car has a rake of 1.2 degrees, this is still a significantly shallower angle than used on either Ferrari SF71H (1.5 degrees) or Red Bull Racing RB14 (1.9 degrees). The Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ was seen as competitive as the Ferrari SF71H in the 2018 Formula One World Championship.

At the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Mercedes trialled a spoon-shaped central section with distinctive vortex-generating serrations on the trailing edge of the main profile. The spoon-shaped central section reduces the section of wing towards the outboard ends which will reduce the amount of drag and downforce, however gaining straight line speed when opening the drag reduction system. The jagged serrations which are bonded to the wing underside, will energize the airflow, trying to claw back some of the down-force lost to the narrower outboard ends.

Engine

In addition to developing the AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ chassis, Mercedes unveiled plans to completely redesign their power unit for the 2018 championship to ensure continuous development until the next generation of engine scheduled for début in 2021. The engine was the subject of attention for an engine mode nicknamed "party mode", which delivered a performance boost over one lap and was used by the team in qualifying. The first specification was introduced at the opening round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship season and was used for 7 consecutive races, from Australia to Canada. A second specification was due to be introduced at the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix, however reliability issues prompted Mercedes to introduce at the 2018 French Grand Prix, naming it as a Phase 2.1 power unit. The third specification was then introduced at the opening round of the 2nd half of the 2018 Formula One World Championship season, the Belgian Grand Prix. For the 1st time in the turbo-hybrid era starting from 2014, Mercedes-AMG F1 M09 EQ Power+ power unit was down on straight line power across the season as compared to the Ferrari 062 EVO power unit used for Ferrari SF71H.

Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers Grands Prix Points WCC

AUS BHR CHN AZE ESP MON CAN FRA AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN RUS JPN USA MEX BRA ABU

Bottas 8 2 2 14† 2 5 2 7 Ret 4 2 5 4 3 4 2 2 5 5 5 5 6 5 5 1st

Hamilton 2 3 4 1 1 3 5 1 Ret 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 1