A SNUG FIT
The rollhoop inlet is much more refined and polished than in 2015. As on most of the other Mercedes-powered challengers, the installation is divided into two ducts: one feeds cooling air to the V6, while the second either serves as a gearbox cooler or an ERS cooler. The lower part of the revised design has been hollowed out and now includes two pillars to complete the rollhoop setup.
The engine cover wraps up much more tightly at the back. Last year it used to stop sharply right before the rear suspension arms; now these wishbones go through the bodywork, which extends to the very end of the car (compare yellow outlines). Although Manor now has a Mercedes power unit, the carbon wishbones and gearbox are provided by Williams and unlike fellow customer team Force India they are not running a Mercedes transmission. However, Manor has been utilising one of the German constructor’s windtunnels in Brackley and has hired a Stuttgart protégé in 2015 DTM champion Wehrlein.
Toto Wolff previously said he was open to making Manor a Mercedes B-team, although in the past he has also questioned the similar partnership that exists between rivals Ferrari and newcomers Haas F1 Team. Ironically, Mercedes’ call for clarification about the association actually led the FIA to come up with stricter windtunnel restrictions that will make any future tie-up with Manor inevitably less interesting.
Also of note is the extra horizontal slit pierced in the rear wing’s endplate. The MNR1 windtunnel model already featured a similar layout last year.
