Formula One car development blog

Force India has secured their year best qualifying session of the year with Liuzzi in 6th and Sutil in 9th position. The F-duct that was introduced in Turkey but only raced by Liuzzi is now on both cars and certainly helped them to make a step forward at Montreal, where low drag on the long straights is vital for good laptimes. The team's system is very similar to that of Ferrari, with inlets on each side of the airbox and a channel going into the rear wing through the shark fin.

Me... Read more

In its own series of "updates at every race", McLaren have revised the sidepod panel. Attached to the car's floor and to the sidepod itself, all connections also fulfil an aerodynamic purpose. The panel itself is now more curvy at the bottom, while the section where it is closest to the sidepod now has a leading edge leaning inwards, aiming to direct more air around the outside of the panel.

The panel, although apparently simple, is extremely important for the car's rear end efficie... Read more

It's been said before, but the French team keep on confirming that they are convinced much time is to be found in the front wing. Unsurprisingly though, as the front wing hits the airflow first greatly influences the diffuser's efficiency, as well as airflow around the front wheels or into the brake ducts.

Just one race after its newest wing, the R30 is again equipped with a new version. The curvy stacked panel that was present since the the beginning of the season has made way for ... Read more

Red Bull have taken their time to thoroughly develop their own F-duct for the RB6, a car which is already a masterpiece. They are the latest top team to introduce it, but it certainly is one of the most interesting system yet seen.

Pictures taken on Friday afternoon show the RB6 with an uncovered F-duct, consisting of two channels through the sharkfin and onto the rear wing. Both channels start in a closed box, seemingly connected to the airbox. From there, the upper channel feeds a... Read more

Year after year teams are trying out new positions for the cameras. Be it the nose cameras or those on the engine cover, since they have an aerodynamic influence they are deemed interesting to optimize. As the shape is defined as a neutral wing, the only thing that's left is try to position it where it can be used as a flow straightener.

Mercedes have therefore followed McLaren's example and are now running nose cameras located low above the front wing. And if that wasn't enough, th... Read more

Renault was apparently not joking when they claimed to update their in every race. The team did not introduce a major update in Spain but has brought new updates at every single Grand Prix, each of them effectively used as they were all found to be consistent with windtunnel data. Together, Renault's car has already improved 0.75s since the first Grand Prix.

This time around, the team had another new front wing development, an area where they admitted to be lacking last year. The ne... Read more

The constant quest for cleaner airflow around and below the car made Red Bull to adopt a small set of turning vanes under the nose at China to optimize the airflow towards the lower part of the car. The vanes are positioned in between the front wheels, ahead of the wheel axle.

The new turning vanes are similar to Ferrari's items and of course triggered a series of other changes to the car.

The front wing was modified with a new inner flap profile, simplifying its shape. The area whe... Read more

Virgin Racing have brought a number of updates on its only modified car, the one of Timo Glock. Due to the delays in air traffic in recent weeks, the team were unable to complete the second extended wheelbase chassis in time, which is why Lucas Di Grassi will race it for the first time at Turkey.

Glock however tried a new shark fin cover on Friday morning, but eventually opted against it for the race. Also note, as marked by the arrow, that the rear wing features an additional slot ... Read more

As of the Chinese GP, outboard mirrors attached to the sidepod panels are banned by the FIA. The design was introduced by Ferrari in 2006 but have eventually found unsafe. It was argued that with the wide position, drivers had to rotate their head to get a clear look, while the position of the mirrors themselves could reduce visibility and increase the blind spot, an important cause for collisions.

The sudden ban however raises questions as to why the governing body have not acted s... Read more

Sometimes in Formula One it doesn't have to be complicated. For many it appeared like the Lotus T127 was an underdeveloped car with only the front wing having enjoyed some thorough development. In their Spanish update however, the team are running a much simpler front wing, which apparently proves useful for the drivers.

While the previous front wing endplate had several vertical panels attached to each other with small winglets, the new version is a basic endplate, a flat floor pan... Read more