Formula One car development blog

One of the most striking changes for 2009 will certainly be the smaller but higher rear wing. Its new maximum width is now defined to be 750mm rather than 1000mm, while the maximum height is set to 950mm above the car's reference place.
While such change may not be aesthetically pleasing, it basically is based on the rear wings of the early nineties. Over the years, the FIA tried to reduce downforce by lowering the rear wing, but analysis have showed that the teams have made such pr... Read more

At this week's Barcelona test, Honda showed a front wing conforming to the 2009 specifications. While there is a lot more to it than just the central section, this is the most interesting - or boring - part. In recent years, teams came up with various different spoon shapes in the middle part of the front wing, but they won't have to bother anymore. A change in the regulations stipulates that the central part of the front wing (500mm of it to be exact) must consist of a single eleme... Read more

In the winter series developments we'll be looking at the changes incurred by the drastic regulation changes that rule Formula One for 2009 and beyond. First off it marks the end of the shark gills, which came widely into use after the sidepod of the championship winning Renault R25 was completely covered with these hot air exhausts.
While they have caused interesting point of view into the car's cooling, any opening in almost the entire sidepod area is banned with article 3.8.5, ex... Read more

Despite knowing that late aerodynamic developments are useless in perspective to 2009, McLaren have brought some interesting changes to Brazil. Most important is the new rear wing, specifically developed for this circuit. At both sides, the rear wing has upward curves, and while that in itself is not very new, the upper plane follows the same curve and extends to the leading edge of the end plates. While this is hard to explain without detailed CFD analyses, the new shape is most li... Read more

Ferrari have put most of their attention all year on introducing tweaks and tiny updates to an already excellent aerodynamic package. As of Japan, the Ferrari F2008 is equipped with a modified link between the barge board and the sidepod panel.
On the left in the image is the Belgian version, while on the right a picture taken at the Japanese GP. The new update clearly shows a more curved item that direct more air around the sidepod towards the rear end of the car. Such small develo... Read more

Renault are on the winning path again, and it quickly shows in the way their development goes. During the season, the team concentrated on improving tire management to allow for a more consisent pace during the race. Recently they also made 'reliability' progress on their engine, but now there's more.
An interesting idea that Renault now came up with is to actually use part of the hot air exhaust gases to heat up the rear tires. The R28 now features a modified rear wheel shield with... Read more

A single event and two weeks after Red Bull introduced their delta wings, Toro Rosso have them too. The design is very much known from BMW Sauber and McLaren although shows most familiarity with the Swiss version.
The wings are built to improve cooling performance and increase downforce, both at the front and rear end of the car.
Also note that the front wing's bridge at Fuji was attached by the older strut, rather than the newer version.

Force India have only recently come up with their wheel fairings, but are already heavily experimenting with them. While the initial version very much resembled that of Red Bull, the Singapore circuit required modifications to make sure the front brakes are adequately cooled. The 'hot-spec' version is basically a half fairing, as it only covers half of the wheel. Due to the nature of the remaining circuits though, it appears unlikely that the team will use this version again as more... Read more

As extra little bit of downforce stripped off some time of a lap around Singapore, Toyota added a mini rear wing behind the usual one. Other teams have done similar things, but Toyota designed a wing with a slot gap. The gap is vital for such high angle of attack in order to prevent flow seperation on its underside.
The rear wing itself is of the same type as the one used at Monaco. It makes maximum use of the regulations by having 3 elements in the central area of the wing, again f... Read more

Despite Kubica's recent concern of the car's development, the pace of the BMW Sauber was relatively good. As what is probably one of the final improvements to the F1.08, the team added a little extra flipup behind the chimney. Each little bit of extra downforce is a help at the twisty corners of the Singapore street circuit.
The rear wing on the other hand did not undergo development. It is the exact same wing as the one raced at the Hungaroring, a similar high downforce circuit.