Tag: Technical Updates

Technical upgrades: 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix

McLaren has brought a new floor to the Mexico City Grand Prix as one of the few performance upgrades being introduced by teams in the middle of the U.S.-Mexico-Brazil tripleheader. Most teams brought new packages to the United States Grand Prix a …

McLaren has brought a new floor to the Mexico City Grand Prix as one of the few performance upgrades being introduced by teams in the middle of the U.S.-Mexico-Brazil tripleheader.

Most teams brought new packages to the United States Grand Prix a week ago to get full value across the final six races, but a new McLaren floor has only been prepared in time for this weekend. The team has just one of the floors available and it will be run by Lando Norris from FP2 onwards, with Pato O’Ward driving his car without the update in the first practice session.

“The floor design has been heavily revised, with geometric changes in all areas, resulting in an increase of aerodynamic load across all conditions,” McLaren states.

RB is the only other team with a performance upgrade submitted to the FIA, with updates to the floor fences and floor edge. The fences change reduces losses elsewhere on the car, while the revised edge will deliver increased load. There are also enlarged cooling outlets on the engine cover and cooling louvers in circuit-specific changes that are seen across the grid.

Red Bull has a bigger central topbody on its engine cover that allows for more power unit cooling, as well as enlarged front brake ducts, while Ferrari has added extra cooling louvers to its bodywork. McLaren also has more cooling louvers and sidepod and engine cover cooling options on top of its floor update.

As well as larger bodywork for the engine cover, Williams will be testing a new beam wing that it believes will provide a better drag range in Mexico City. The altitude means teams run high-downforce packages but get far less performance from them, akin to getting Monza-spec downforce from a Monaco-spec package.

Mercedes, Aston Martin, Alpine, Stake and Haas have not submitted any new parts for this weekend’s race.

Technical updates: 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bull is one of just three teams to bring new parts to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as it looks to recover from its recent handling difficulties. A change to the floor body features “floor tunnel geometry [that has been] subtly revised by locally …

Red Bull is one of just three teams to bring new parts to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as it looks to recover from its recent handling difficulties.

A change to the floor body features “floor tunnel geometry [that has been] subtly revised by locally raising or lowering the surfaces,” according to the team, which seeks a better balance after being off the pace in Monza two weeks ago. That is the only new part submitted to the FIA by any of the top four teams, with McLaren having updated its car in Zandvoort and Ferrari at Monza.

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Aston Martin has made a minor adjustment to its rear corner, trimming the bottom edge of the lower deflector. The team says the change modifies airflow around the rear part of the floor, helping to extract more performance from that part of the car.

The only other team to bring a new part to Baku is RB, where there is a tweak to the front wing. RB has reduced the camber of the front flap, in turn reducing overall load for balance purposes on a track that is low drag. Baku features a 1.3-mile flat-out section out of Turn 16 until braking for Turn 1, emphasizing the need to reduce drag and maximize top speed.

The low number of new parts is partly due to the race schedule, with back-to-back flyaway races in Baku and Singapore being followed by a three-week gap before a tripleheader of Austin, Mexico and Brazil. Targeting the latter trio of races gives teams significantly more time to develop parts and still get good value out of them with a quarter of the season remaining.

Ferrari unveils major upgrade package at Monza

Ferrari has brought a major upgrade to its home race alongside multiple circuit-specific items at the Italian Grand Prix. Like Red Bull, Ferrari has the usual front and rear wing changes that are for the low-downforce demands of Monza, but on top of …

Ferrari has brought a major upgrade to its home race alongside multiple circuit-specific items at the Italian Grand Prix.

Like Red Bull, Ferrari has the usual front and rear wing changes that are for the low-downforce demands of Monza, but on top of that there are a number of major changes that are part of overall development. Changes to the nose and mirror stays are minor tweaks, but updates to the floor fences, floor body, floor edge, diffuser and engine cover target the areas Ferrari has been struggling with since an update in Spain.

The target is to reduce the level of bouncing that the car suffers from while maintaining performance from downforce, with the floor fences aimed at “an improvement of the losses downstream” and leading to the reshaping of the rest of the floor and diffuser.

Mercedes has only introduced a new rear wing for the low-downforce track, while at McLaren a high cooling front brake duct is introduced as well as a new front wing — both solely targeted at Monza — and a new sidepod shape that should benefit rear aerodynamic performance.

Aston Martin has brought a Monza-specific front wing, rear wing and beam wing; at Alpine it’s just the front wing that has been updated; Williams has a low-drag front wing — including endplates — and rear wing; and Haas also has a front wing for this track, as well as an updated front suspension.

There are more performance changes at RB and Stake, however. The Italian-based RB team adds to the usual front wing, rear wing and beam wing designs for Monza with a new floor and Halo for overall performance, as well as simplified mirrors to reduce drag.

At Stake, as well as the front and rear wing changes there is a new floor and diffuser, with the latter designed to help “increase high energy flow into the diffuser” and better control the aerodynamic impact of the rear tires.

Technical updates: 2024 Dutch Grand Prix

McLaren and Williams bring the biggest upgrades to the Dutch Grand Prix as Formula 1 resumes its season following the mid-season break. Red Bull has a small engine cover change that it defines as circuit specific as well as tweaks to the halo and …

McLaren and Williams bring the biggest upgrades to the Dutch Grand Prix as Formula 1 resumes its season following the mid-season break.

Red Bull has a small engine cover change that it defines as circuit specific as well as tweaks to the halo and mirror stays to improve airflow to the rear of the car, but McLaren is the only one of the top four teams with significant updates. A new front brake scoop, front suspension, floor edge and rear suspension are all performance developments, while a new rear wing and beam wing specific to Zandvoort improve efficiency.

The Williams upgrade is the team’s first major one of the season and is similarly notable, with a new floor incorporating all aspects of the floor body, edges and fences. There is a subtly updated diffuser alongside the floor changes, while new sidepod inlets “have unlocked performance improvements to the rest of the car.” The engine cover has been adapted alongside the sidepods, as has the central air intake, although the main focus of the change there is to remove weight.

Alex Albon’s updated Williams FW46 at the Dutch GP. Andy Hone/Motorsport Images

Alpine has brought a new front suspension that improves airflow to the rear of the car, while a rear brake duct update allows a more efficient trade-off of downforce and drag, while RB has a smaller rear brake duct that features alongside revised winglets.

The only other new parts brought to Zandvoort are at Haas, where the focus is on the front end of the car. A new front wing redistributes the aerodynamic load, and an updated nose helps achieve a clearer central flow. Those changes have meant associated tweaks are required to both the front suspension and front corner deflectors.

Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Stake have not submitted any upgrades to the FIA.

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.