The majority of teams have brought upgrades of varying degrees to the United States Grand Prix, with McLaren and Mercedes introducing major new packages.
The four-week break since the last race in Singapore allowed teams to focus on development and manufacturing, and the upcoming schedule of six races in eight weeks makes COTA a good opportunity to deliver an upgrade. The McLaren package features a new front wing, front suspension, front brake ducts, rear suspension, rear brake ducts and beam wing, as one of the biggest number of components submitted.
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Red Bull, by contrast, has only brought a different specification of floor – focusing on the floor edge – and an updated engine cover that it says is for cooling purposes. However, for weight-saving reasons there could be parts that are of the same design that have been made lighter.
That’s still two more components than Ferrari, where no updates are listed, but Mercedes is similar to McLaren in arriving with a number of new parts. An upgraded front wing, front suspension, floor edge, floor fences, sidepod inlet and engine cover make for a substantial revision of the car.
Aston Martin also has a significant update package, with the front wing and front wing endplate changing, along with the engine cover, floor – both floor body and floor edge – and diffuser.
At Alpine there is a new floor body and floor edge too, as well as bodywork on the engine cover and a reprofiled rear wing, while RB has a new floor as its only upgrade. Stake focused on the front wing, front suspension, rear suspension and rear brake duct deflectors as it looks to score its first points of the season.
There is a bigger upgrade at Haas, where there is a new sidepod inlet, complete new floor, updated rear brake drum cascade, and changes to the engine cover exit and cooling louvers. The package is only running on Nico Hulkenberg’s car in FP1 while it is analyzed.
Like Ferrari, Williams doesn’t list any new components.