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New Cheating Accusation Between Redbull and Mercedes Proves That F1 Is the King of racing

During the Brazil GP, Mercedes literally drove away from its competition on the straights. Now, Red Bull Racing seems to think it's found the proof, and boy is it one incredibly cool way to cheat the rules if found to be true.
Mercedes F1 Wing 7 photos
Photo: Formula 1
Mercedes WingMercedes WingMercedes Fomula One CarF1 Wing DetailsF1 Wing DetailsMercedes F1 Wing
Here's a quick breakdown on what's happening. Mercedes is driving a car with more power than any other this year. Nevertheless, they were some 16 miles per hour faster on the straights at Brazil.

That's a lot quicker than just a bit of horsepower will produce. In fact, it was so fast that Lewis Hamilton had no problem overcoming penalties to take the overall win. Red Bull driver Chris Horner spelled that out quiet clearly by saying...

“The straightline speeds we’ve seen in Mexico and Brazil – I think everyone could see in Brazil was not a normal situation."

"And yes, a new Mercedes engine comes with an increased performance, but when you have a 27 km/h closing speed and you see witness marks on rear wing endplates that have been marking up from wings that have been flexing, it’s very clear to us what has been going on.”

That "marking" he's talking about is the key point in this debate now. Photos show that underneath the top section of the wing, there are witness marks just behind the upper portion of the lower wing. It seems that at high enough speeds, the wing is actually flexing and allowing more air to pass through. That means less drag and more top-end speed for Mercedes.

Mercedes F1 Wing
Photo: Formula 1
That flexion is called aeroelasticity, and the way Mercedes seems to be using it is absolutely brilliant. F1 rules officials have known about teams using aeroelasticity in the past. In fact, it's why slot gap separators exist on wings today. It's also why the rear wing on all cars has a series of dots that can be evaluated for flexion via video feed during the race.

Interestingly enough, this one particular section of wing in question cannot be seen by on-board cameras during the race. That's why the only photo we have of evidence is from well behind the car. While it's possible that somehow this is just a misunderstanding, it sure doesn't seem likely. It's just one more evidence that Formula One is at the actual bloody cutting edge of racing.
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