The COAT - R1 - Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance vs Benetton B194 vs McLaren M23

[crmalcolm]

The sixth match in the first round sees our first 3-way battle.

The Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance vs The Benetton B194 vs The McLaren M23.

Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance (f1technical.net):
With 2020 having the same set of regulations as 2019, Mercedes were strongly positioned, given they ended the 2019 season with a really strong car. However tempting it might have been to just develop what they had, the team still opted for some serious progress, due to "feeling the breath of their competitors on their shoulders", as Technical Director James Allison described it.

At the front, the team changed "a lot of the front structures, and made it much much harder to cope with the cornering forces by accepting more complexity around the uprights and wheel rims. We've changed the detail inside the wheels, and in the way the suspension goes into the wheels so that we have more aerodynamic opportunity in the front end. It was difficult project, but one that has given us good aerodynamic gains".

Not commented on by the team, but discovered on the second day of testing at Barcelona, was the team's novel Dual Axis Steering (DAS) system, which allowed drivers to push and pull the steering wheel to alter the suspension settings. The team revealed it was the result of more than a year of development.

The first week of testing was immediately a strong outing for Mercedes with its car completing the most mileage and topping the times in the end.

Benetton B194 (snaplap.net):
Whether it was illegal or not, Benetton B194 made history. Not just because it light, fast, reliable, but because it showed that not everyone could get the maximum out of it.
Taming this beast helped Michael Schumacher win the 1994 Formula 1 World Championship title.

This amazing machine was designed by Rory Byrne in order to meet the new regulations that followed the ban of the electronic driver aid. Byrne alongside Ross Brawn and Nicholas Tombazis did a good job and the B194 in the hands of Schumacher proved to be the most competitive car on the grid. Many teams complained that the B194 was illegal, but FIA dropped all the complaints after detailed investigations.

Interestingly, Schumacher had three teammates that year – Jos Verstappen, Johnny Herbert, and JJ Lehto – and all of them were unhappy with the car, stating that it is difficult to drive. The Benetton team did not win the title in that quite controversial season, marked by a death of Ayrton Senna, but everybody was more than happy when Schumacher won his first championship after a huge battle against the Williams driver Damon Hill.

Both Schumacher and Verstappen retired from the German Grand Prix, but they recovered quickly and perfectly. Michael won the race at Hungaroring and Jos finished 3rd, so that was the best race of the season for Benetton. The Belgian Grand Prix brought another controversy. Schumacher won the race but the German was stripped of his win due to excessive wear on his Benetton B194’s skid block, Verstappen’s 3rd place at Spa was some kind of consolation for the team.

The conclusion is that Benetton B194 was reliable only in Schumi’s hands. He scored all of team’s eight wins in 1994, had two podiums, while Verstappen added other two. The Benetton B194 also scored eight fastest laps and six pole positions and announced even better next season with a new car.

McLaren M23 (grandprixhistory.org):
Following the lead of the Lotus 72 and their own M16 Indianapolis car Mclaren's Gordon Coppuck used the same chisel nose, side radiators and wedge shape for their new Formula 1 car, the M23. Regulations for 1973 required cars to have a deformable structure and the McLaren filled a 3/4 inch cavity in the frame and it's aluminum skin with aerosol foam. Debuting in 1973 the car used the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV prepared by John Nicholson's specialist tuning company. The M23 had a rising rate inboard suspension with outboard disc brakes at the front and outboard suspension and inboard disc brakes at the rear. In its 5 1/2 year life, 4 at the front of the grid a total of thirteen cars were built. Initially sponsored by Yardley it scored a fifth place first time out in South Africa. They would score an impressive three wins that year; one by Denis Hulme and two by Peter Revson. The McLaren M23 was entered in 85 races, winning 16 of them and taking one constructors’ title and two drivers’ titles (Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt). It was introduced early in the 1973 season and hit the track for the final time at the 1977 Italian Grand Prix. It was powered by a 3.0-litre Ford V8.

[chillibowl]

while i appreciate that it may be harder to innovate these days and DAS was cool...but their car naming format really sucks!

B194 for me. had really only got into F1 a few years earlier and this was one of the first cars i developed more of a technical curiosity about. had a picture of that B194 on my wall for a lot of years.

[S griffin]

For me it's the Merc. Quite innovative DAS system and it has become probably the fastest car ever. The B194 will always have those illegal suspicions about it

[crmalcolm]

Another deciding vote required - and I go for the Benetton B194.

Why - it was the first car to deliver a title for Schumacher, and his approach to this car has changed the way top drivers approach every car from that day onwards.