Learn from Coffee Corner Motorsport- Terry Widdows - our technical correspondent about all things tech and car upgrades during each Formula 1 weekend!
The summer break is over! Welcome back as we swing back into action in Zandvoort for Round 15 of the F1 World Championship!
Development has been a hot topic over the summer break - mainly for the wrong reasons - due to the unfounded reports that Red Bull had been running brakes that have now been banned and been asked to take them off. This has been proved untrue, as the FIA confirmed that no team had been running these types of brakes and this was just to tighten the rules up.
Let's get back on track, though, with 6 of the teams bringing updates to the first race back after the summer break. The most notable team upgrades are McLaren who brought 6 updates to what is already regarded as the fastest car on the grid in a warning to the chasing pack.
Here are the updates that have caught my eye this weekend.
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McLaren have brought with them a new Front Brake Scoop which is marked as a front corner update. The new redesigned scoop is key to several updates and is described as improving the flow conditions for an aerodynamic gain without compromising the brake cooling performance. It’s slightly wider and more defined than what was previously on the car, and it has also led to a front suspension change to compliment it.
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As always, the purpose of any floor edge update is to improve the load around the edge and increase downforce to improve the speed of the car. This upgrade is no exception. It's hoped that - combined with the changes made to the ducts and suspension - these updates will help especially on a track where downforce is key.
Other updates to the McLaren include rear suspension changes, a new, higher downforce rear wing, and a new beamwing - all combined to propel the team into the constructor championship fight.
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These are only minor updates to the Red Bull, but, interestingly, are areas they have made quite a few changes to this season - so it is clearly an area they feel will benefit the RB20. You will see in the image above that they have a rearward fairing vane and have also made changes to the height of the mirror stays. Both of these updates are to direct the air flow more efficiently down the sidepod - which also has a change to the engine cover to further this gain. The purpose is to direct the air flow in a better way to minimize resistance to the air as it travels towards the rear of the car. This will help improve the pressure and help improve the efficiency of the RB20.
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Another team who have made significant changes both for the final 10 races and with 2025 in mind is Williams. They have brought 5 updates to their car for this weekend. The most notable one is this new side pod inlet that has been introduced and has changed the sidepod to an overbite inlet. This is a dramatic change from before and is designed to improve the flow of air from the front to the rear of the car - which has been a troublesome area for the team. It is hoped that the new inlet will reduce the drag to maintain the high speeds more efficiently whilst maximizing downforce.
Other updates to Williams include new floor body, diffuser, engine cover, and central air intake, as the team look to make gains and cement 2025 plans.
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Haas have a new Front wing and nose on their car for this weekend. The nose now covers the first element of the front wing and the two are designed to work together to form a cleaner flow of air over the chassis towards the rear of the car. The front wing also features new endplate connections that had to be revised because of the new profiles that the changes have brought. They have also had to change the front suspension to compensate for these new changes... so it's quite a substantial package for the team as they try to cement their solid start to the 2024 season.
Whilst these have caught my attention, the other dark horse that I want to touch on are Mercedes. They have not listed an update.... but they actually have one.
What I mean by this is that if you cast your mind back to Spa they brought an update to their floor, but then didn't run it for qualifying and the race after getting some uncertain results from it. This upgrade IS back this weekend with the drivers running a check for Friday. George ran with the new one and Lewis with the old to check the update and to see which one to go with. Mercedes have confirmed it can be fitted to both cars if they want to ... so that's going to be interesting to see which way they go - especially looking at FP1 and FP2 times.
So with that in mind, welcome back, and let's see if this McLaren update can propel them to the front. Also, just what can the Mercedes team, who are enjoying a little run at the moment ,bring to the hunt for wins.
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