Only three teams have brought upgrades to the Qatar Grand Prix as the impact of a flyaway Sprint race weekend limits who is willing to make changes.
Teams have just one free practice session on Friday to hone set-ups and cooling requirements in Lusail before they enter parc ferme and are unable to make significant tweaks, making it a challenge to gain an understanding of any new components in the same period.
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Only Alpine, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri have opted to try new parts this weekend, with the remaining seven teams all sticking with existing cars for the event.
Alpine’s upgrade is the largest, with a change to the floor that brings a small downforce gain at low rear ride height settings, while there are also modifications to the rear brake drums. An interesting note is a new set of bodywork that includes larger exits for cooling purposes, but this is geared towards the altitude in Mexico and will only run in FP1.
Alfa Romeo has brought a new beam wing that also influences the rear wing endplates that is a further addition to the wider package of upgrades that have recently been introduced, while the AlphaTauri update is the front edge of the floor that increases the amount of airflow through the front section of floor fences and improves downforce.