Formula One car development blog

Whether this is the rumoured W-wing of Renault remains to be seen (rumours tend to be wrong sometimes), the team introduced its new wing just this weekend (upper image). The difference with the wing that was tested through the winter (lower left inset) is the curvature close to the end plates. While similar designs have appeared at Renault, this one is completely new and very much resembles the current rear wing of McLaren (lower right inset). The wing also has twin central supports... Read more

Honda have surprised many with their relatively good pace in qualifying at Australia. Part of that is thanks to a new aeropackage, including this new front wing (upper part). As marked, you can see the base plane is completely revised and is now more edged in the ends and smoother along the spoon shape. The upper element is also redesigned and is of much simpler shape than before. The previous version resembled highly the Ferrari front wing while the new one has no more cuts and is ... Read more

McLaren have introduced an additional development to their bridge wing at the final pre-season test at Barcelona. While all previous iterations of any team were all of a single, solid aerofoil in between the end plates and above the nose cone. The newest McLaren version has a small opening in the downforce generating blades, effectively increasing their efficiency. At the same time, the new element is slightly flatter and longer in the middle, therefore improving its stabilisation f... Read more

As the new Honda has been testing with its 'viking horns' for a while now (they were quickly fitted after the launch), it is time to have a closer look at them. While it is now the only car with horns, pictured are also McLaren's version of 2006 and from BMW Sauber in 2007. As is clear in the image, the curvature is more rounded now at the outer extremities while the angle of attack is very neutral, similar to McLaren's item. The aerofoils themselves are aimed to stabilise the car u... Read more

The team's takeover by Vijay Mallya during the winter has certainly proved to have its effect on the development of the car. While the launched car did not have much new bits, the version of the VJM-01 that made the track debut did. First off, the team looked closely to what McLaren have been doing with their sidepod panels and therefore also elongated the panel onto the sidepod to connect to the chimney. The element is also very similar to Williams' design. Additionally, the car ha... Read more

As part of its ongoing aerodynamic development, BMW Sauber have designed a new component that sits between the sidepod panel and the barge board. While it's initial sidepod panel was rather simple and small, the new unit adds yet another aerofoil to the already overloaded BMW Sauber. As the image points out, the lower attachment to the bargeboard incorporates a winglet at the tail of the board. At the upper end, it assists to smoothen turbulent air from behind the front wheel. An in... Read more

While it was expected that more and more teams would revert their inboard mirrors to have them located behind the front wheels, somehow it turned out to be the opposite. Renault had its mirrors integrated into the sidepod panels while on the R28 the have made them pointy and very close to the chassis. The wing mirrors are even partly above the cockpit sides and allowed for very short connections between the monocoque and the mirror covers. You can also see from the top view that the... Read more

Similar to Honda's totally different strategy, Renault had to do something very different to get back on form. The French team have gotten rid of their V-keel and instead designed a low nose that allowed the team to hold on to their almost horizontal frontal wishbones. As a comparison, the RA108 is on top with the R28 on the bottom. It is clear that the nose of the Renault is substantially longer and also lower between the front wheels. Metric markings are added, using the Renault f... Read more

Contrary to their philosophy of recent years to lower the nose bit by bit, Honda have taken a totally different road with the RA108. As the 2007 car had much aerodynamic problems and was difficult to extract front downforce, the team have freed up the frontal area to improve front wing efficiency. A higher nose is generally the better option for wing efficiency as it aims not to interfere with the wing's airflow. It must be said that, for a first time really high nose, Honda did a g... Read more

Honda's new team principal Ross Brawn has clearly had his influence in the newest Honda. The knowledge he gathered at Ferrari particularly shows in the sidepod area. Marked in the image are the cut upper edge of the barge boards. Behind the bargeboard and also pointed out is the strong and simple leading edge at the bottom of the sidepod. Honda is however not following the outboard mirror style which appears not to be very favourable due to the higher edges of the cockpits. The RA10... Read more