Tag: Technical Updates

Technical updates: 2024 Austrian Grand Prix

McLaren has the most notable new parts of the front-running teams as a small number of upgrades have been introduced at the Austrian Grand Prix. Given the nature of the sprint weekend featuring just one practice session, and with some teams focusing …

McLaren has the most notable new parts of the front-running teams as a small number of upgrades have been introduced at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Given the nature of the sprint weekend featuring just one practice session, and with some teams focusing on delivering upgrades a week ago in Spain, half of the grid have submitted no updates at the Red Bull Ring. That includes home team Red Bull, as well as Aston Martin, Alpine, Williams and Haas.

Of those to bring new parts, only McLaren lists more than one new component, as it has two areas working together, A new front wing and new front suspension work in conjunction, with the front wing geometry providing improved aerodynamic load, and the suspension then aiming to maximize the improved flow characteristics.

Mercedes has introduced a new beam wing that provides a reduction in drag, while Ferrari has added an extra cooling louver on its engine cover in anticipation of high temperatures across the weekend.

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RB continues its regular development with changes to the rear brake drum, revising the winglets that generate load and manage the flow at the back of the car, while Stake has the same update as Mercedes with a lower drag beam wing that reduces drag and improves aerodynamic efficiency.

Teams are not required to submit information about any parts that are of identical design, meaning components that have been manufactured out of a different material for weight-saving purposes are not publicly listed as upgrades.

Technical updates: 2024 Canadian Grand Prix

Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine are the only teams not to bring small upgrades to the Canadian Grand Prix as limited new parts have been introduced in Montreal. Hosting the race between a run of European rounds means there is less benefit to an upgrade …

Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine are the only teams not to bring small upgrades to the Canadian Grand Prix as limited new parts have been introduced in Montreal.

Hosting the race between a run of European rounds means there is less benefit to an upgrade package at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with teams able to push development later to take to Barcelona at the start of a tripleheader of races in two weeks’ time. That means three teams have not brought any new parts at all, while the most updated components for any single team is two.

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Red Bull has a new rear wing design that increases local load, while it also has developed a larger front brake duct exit for cooling reasons, with braking demands heavy in Canada.

Mercedes has similarly focused on its front brake ducts — although the inlet has been enlarged — while there is also a realignment of the front suspension that improves airflow to the floor for a performance gain.

Aston Martin has a new beam wing, while Williams has updated suspension on both the front and rear of the car. A shorter steering arm has an impact on driver inputs, while a new pullrod rear suspension design offers a wider range of ride heights and provides increased performance through a weight saving.

A new rear wing at RB is designed to offer more efficient downforce at a track where long straights put an emphasis on reducing drag, but that has required a front wing tweak in conjunction with the upgrade in order to keep the car balanced.

A similar approach has been taken by Stake Sauber — where there is the updated rear wing and beam wing for low-downforce setups — and Haas that has an evolution of its front wing to help balance the car when a lower-downforce configuration of rear wing is used.

Technical updates: 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Multiple teams have brought circuit-specific upgrades to the second round of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with only Mercedes submitting what is listed as a performance item. Mercedes has a new lower deflector as part of the rear …

Multiple teams have brought circuit-specific upgrades to the second round of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with only Mercedes submitting what is listed as a performance item.

Mercedes has a new lower deflector as part of the rear corner that is designed to improve local load, as the only item named among its new parts. At Red Bull, there is tighter bodywork around the engine cover for cooling reasons, while the rear wing and beam wing have been adapted for drag levels.

Ferrari and McLaren both have the same tweak to the rear wing and beam wing, while Aston Martin only has the rear wing, coupled with a front corner adaptation that is designed to influence the wake around the front tires to improve airflow downstream.

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Williams has a new beam wing for drag levels as well as cooling-related changes to its front brake ducts, but the largest number of updates is at RB where a new engine cover improves air flow, while there are also more cooling louvers available on top of changes to the front and rear wings for drag purposes.

Alpine, Stake and Haas all have submitted no new components for this weekend’s race, with it coming just one week after the season opener in Bahrain.

Technical updates: 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

AlphaTauri has the largest amount of new parts at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin also bringing updates to the final race. The overall development rate has dropped as the end of the season has approached, with limited …

AlphaTauri has the largest amount of new parts at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin also bringing updates to the final race.

The overall development rate has dropped as the end of the season has approached, with limited returns if teams are going to make significant changes to their cars ahead of 2024. However, with AlphaTauri still trying to catch Williams for seventh in the constructors’ championship, it has brought a major upgrade to Abu Dhabi.

As the main performance differentiator, AlphaTauri has a new floor that is divided into three specific areas of development. The floor body has been updated with the forward and central floor areas modified. That works in conjunction with new floor fences, while the forward part of the floor edge wing has also been adapted as part of the development.

AlphaTauri is also the only team with both race drivers taking part in the entire race weekend, as all other teams have at least one rookie running in FP1, and in Red Bull’s case two.

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Only two other teams have new parts for the final race, with Aston Martin focusing on the rear of its car. A new beam wing works in partnership with a revised rear wing, while there are also subtle changes to the rear wing endplate.

At Alfa Romeo, it’s the front wing that is getting attention, with changes to the main body, flaps and endplate that are “meant to influence the airflow throughout the whole car and improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.”

Technical upgrades: 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix

McLaren, Aston Martin and Alpine are the only teams with new parts submitted for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The final two races of the season run back to back at Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, and with a new venue to get to grips with the majority of teams …

McLaren, Aston Martin and Alpine are the only teams with new parts submitted for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The final two races of the season run back to back at Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, and with a new venue to get to grips with the majority of teams have opted to run cars without changes to provide a stable baseline. But two of the three to bring track-specific updates — McLaren and Aston Martin — are just 21 points apart in the constructors’ championship with just two rounds to go.

McLaren has designed a special beam wing and rear wing that is specific to Vegas, with the two working in conjunction to maximize efficiency and allow the team to change which aspect generates the most load.

Lance Stroll in the Las Vegas-spec Aston Martin AMR23. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

For Aston Martin, the theory is similar but sees an update to the front wing that “is to balance the car with lower rear wing levels when circuit characteristics require that setup,” while there is a change to the cooling options on the bodywork and engine cover due to the lower ambient temperatures.

Alpine has the most tweaks to its car with three areas, and combines those above with a lower-drag beam wing paired with a front wing change that “is the most efficient way to balance the revised beam wing update.” Alpine has also removed upper flicks on the rear brake drums to reduce drag.

Technical upgrades: Sao Paulo Grand Prix

There is only one small update brought to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by Haas as the end of a tripleheader of race weekends leads to a scarcity of new parts. With Interlagos hosting a sprint event, there’s only one free practice session for teams to …

There is only one small update brought to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by Haas as the end of a tripleheader of race weekends leads to a scarcity of new parts.

With Interlagos hosting a sprint event, there’s only one free practice session for teams to get a handle on any upgrades that they want to analyze, so the majority introduced developments at the previous rounds in Austin and Mexico City.

The only item that has been submitted to the FIA is at Haas, where a new front wing flap has been produced that will allow it more setup options specific to the Interlagos circuit.

There are no other new parts listed, and with only two races remaining this season there are multiple teams who are unlikely to bring any further updates this year with their full focus now on 2024.

Technical updates: Mexico City Grand Prix

Cooling requirements are the main focus for a number of teams due to the altitude at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is situated over 7,200 feet above sea level and the air density creates a challenge when it comes to …

Cooling requirements are the main focus for a number of teams due to the altitude at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is situated over 7,200 feet above sea level and the air density creates a challenge when it comes to cooling as well as downforce. As such, there are eight teams who have made minor changes to adapt their cars to the environment this weekend.

Red Bull has enlarged the frontal cooling louvers on the right-hand side of its car, while Ferrari has done the same on both sides extending further back along its engine cover. Alpine has made a similar change with the mid louvers being enlarged and have added to that with a bigger exit for the Coke section of the engine cover at the rear of the car.

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At McLaren there is a revised engine cover geometry as well as a larger front brake duct scoop to help more airflow into the front brake ducts for cooling purposes. A similar pair of new parts are available at Haas too, although the there the engine cover sees additional louvers added to the updated bodywork that was brought to the United States Grand Prix as part of a wider package last weekend.

AlphaTauri also has bigger front brake ducts as well as increasing the size of the central engine cover exit to get more airflow through the central radiator, while Williams joins the list of cars with a bigger engine cover available as well as additional cooling louvers if required based on how power unit and gearbox fluid temperatures are during practice.

The only performance update that has been submitted is at Alfa Romeo, where a new rear brake duct has been introduced that “works in conjunction with the floor introduced in Austin to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and generate downforce.”

Technical updates: United States Grand Prix

Haas, AlphaTauri, Aston Martin and Mercedes all have notable upgrade packages at the United States Grand Prix despite the sprint weekend format. There’s only one practice session for all teams to analyze any new parts, but that hasn’t stopped a …

Haas, AlphaTauri, Aston Martin and Mercedes all have notable upgrade packages at the United States Grand Prix despite the sprint weekend format.

There’s only one practice session for all teams to analyze any new parts, but that hasn’t stopped a whole new car concept being brought by Haas at the start of a tripleheader of race weekends, with the list of updated items consisting of front brake ducts, the floor body, floor edge, sidepod inlets, the engine cover and cooling louvers.

While not as clear visually, AlphaTauri has a similar number of modifications this weekend, with the majority focusing around the floor via a revised floor body, floor edge and floor fences. There’s also a change to the engine cover — with the central bodywork exit tweaks improving cooling — and the rear brake ducts. Perhaps the most notable change from AlphaTauri though relates to the chassis itself, with the team submitting revised surfaces local to the inboard front suspension.

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Aston Martin broke the curfew overnight as it worked on upgrades that include changes to the floor edge in conjunction with the engine cover, diffuser and beam wing to produce increased loading on the floor as an overall package.

As has been the main focal point for most teams during the season, the floor is the only area Mercedes has modified as it tries to understand the direction it is taking for next season. The floor body has a raised leading edge that improves flow to the rear of the car and increases rear downforce, while that is balanced by changes to the forward floor edge flap that is designed to improve forward floor load.

The only other new part submitted for the USGP is a floor edge modification at Alfa Romeo — a continuation of the major upgrade package it brought to Singapore — while Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine and Williams have no updates this weekend.

Technical updates: 2023 Japanese Grand Prix

McLaren and AlphaTauri continue refining their latest upgrade packages with new additions at the Japanese Grand Prix. Having brought a major update to the last race in Singapore, both teams have introduced further parts at Suzuka, with McLaren …

McLaren and AlphaTauri continue refining their latest upgrade packages with new additions at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Having brought a major update to the last race in Singapore, both teams have introduced further parts at Suzuka, with McLaren bringing a fresh beam wing that is circuit-specific but also modifying its sidepod inlets. Oscar Piastri also receives the full raft of upgrades that were only on Lando Norris’ car last weekend.

For AlphaTauri there are changes to the rear wing endplates as well as the rear view mirror, with the latter focused on drag reduction.

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There are no new parts at Red Bull but Ferrari looks to continue its recent good form with a fresh change to its floor, featuring a complete revision of the topology designed to provide an efficiency increase.

Mercedes has a small rear wing endplate addition for added downforce, while Aston Martin has a smaller front brake duct inlet due to the cooling requirements of Suzuka, and Williams has reduced the height of its innermost floor fences to change both local downforce and airflow rearward of that point.

Alpine, Alfa Romeo and Haas also do not have any new parts submitted in Japan.

Technical updates: 2023 Singapore Grand Prix

McLaren, AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo all have significant upgrades as most teams bring new parts for the start of Formula 1’s flyway races in Singapore. As explained by Lando Norris on Thursday, McLaren has brought a raft of upgrades that are the …

McLaren, AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo all have significant upgrades as most teams bring new parts for the start of Formula 1’s flyway races in Singapore.

As explained by Lando Norris on Thursday, McLaren has brought a raft of upgrades that are the biggest set of developments since it made a major step forward in Austria earlier this year. The new parts target the car’s performance in low-speed corners, and relate to the front wing endplates, sidepods and engine cover, a fully revised floor, Halo, rear brake ducts, rear suspension, rear wing endplates and beam wing.

Only Norris will run all the new parts in Singapore, with Oscar Piastri having to wait until Suzuka to get the package on his car.

In total, McLaren has nine areas it has updated, one more than AlphaTauri where there is a tweak to the central floor section, floor edge, diffuser, sidepod inlets, engine cover, rear suspension, rear brake drums and rear view mirrors.

Alfa Romeo has a new floor as well as front wing, diffuser and rear brake ducts, while Alpine also has multiple updates with the sidepod inlet, cooling louvres and beam wing all revised for this weekend.

At Red Bull there is a change to the floor edge and rear wing endplates, while Ferrari has reprofiled its front wing, and Mercedes has updated front brake ducts for cooling purposes.

Aston Martin lists a change to the lower deflector on the rear corner of the car as its only development, with Williams introducing a larger gurney flap for its front wing.

Only Haas has no updates submitted in Singapore, as it works towards a major change of concept to be introduced in Austin in three races’ time.