Formula One car development blog

McLaren have introduced yet another step to its car, this time by changing the sidepod panel. After its initial, small shape at the time of the launch, the team quickly stretched the element - Monza spec in lower part of the image - to make use of it for most of the season. Other temporary developments were used for specific circuits, and it looks like Singapore's high downforce requirements made room for another elongation. McLaren added approximately 10cm to the item to modify air... Read more

Although tested at the latest test at Jerez, the Singapore event is the first time Red Bull will race their car with the new delta wings on it. The new wings are a mixture of the antlers on the McLaren MP4-23 and the very first ones of BMW Sauber. The approach to the design was however fairly simple as far the the wings concern. The profile is a simple, zero inclination aerofoil with a fairly high thickness. The roots of the wings on the other hand look very much inspired to the F1.08.

As one of the final developments of this year, Red Bull have changed the obligatory linkage of the bridge wing. As of the introduction of the rule, Red Bull connected the bridge wing with a simple pillar where the bridge is closest to the nose cone. At the moment this is still the case for most of the teams, including Toro Rosso. However, now they have modified the link to be identical to McLaren's version. The Woking based team used this type of link already from the first race aft... Read more

As part of their major Monza package, Honda introduced a completely new rear wing. The new wing consists of two elements with the obligatory spacer in the middle to prevent the slot gap from closing at high speeds.
There is also a cutout in the middle of the wing - alike but bigger than on the Red Bull RB4 -, similar to what can be seen on the outer sides. These items would have made the wing ideal for bending and hence reducing drag at high speeds, but since the rules do not allow ... Read more

Williams also had its updates for Monza, the most specific of which being the simplified front wing. Contrary to the rest of the races, the FW30 did not have a bridge wing because the team didn't think they needed the extra downforce and drag.
The base plane itself is based on the pre-Spa configuration, indicating that the team was already going through the development before considering the new Spa front wing. The central deep spoon was left unchanged. On the other hand, the third ... Read more

In fact, it's a quick fix for heating the car, as it reduces cooling capacity. Modern F1 cars use airflow in the sidepods to pass through the radiators in order to cool the engine. Behind the heat exchangers, most teams have shark gills in combination with a (closed) chimney to quickly allow the hot air to escape the sidepod.
While such gills are a perfect compromise between cooling capacity and drag, it is always better to have less openings if that is possible. So, Honda have quit... Read more

Ferrari's low downforce package very much resembles last year's Monza specification. In fact their new rear wing is not so new as it is identical to last year's version that was fitted on the F2007. The decision will no doubt have saved some time at Maranello, time than can well be invested in next year's car.
Also marked in the image are the modified flipups. The twin element configuration has been replaced by a single one, reducing drag and downforce - Spa configuration displayed ... Read more

Honda have introduced a new, low-downforce front wing that is remarkable in several aspects. A first is a new end plate that sports a new external flap, guiding air downwards. The carbon fibre element aims to reduce the drag from air hitting the front if the front wheel.
On the inside of the end plate, the previous uncurved flap has been replaced by a more efficient element that better catches the airflow to create a little extra downforce. The new item is also thicker, helping to r... Read more

Following a string of other teams, Toyota have added cockpit wings to its TF108. This type of winglet helps to stabilise the airflow around the cockpit and allows for more downforce generated by the rear wing.
While all of the team's versions aim to do the same, they are in fact fairly different. By measure of comparison, the lower image displays BMW Sauber's version which is a fairly thick wing with a varying but positive angle of attack. On the Toyota, the wing is thinner and is c... Read more

Williams have introduced a new front wing at Spa, consisting of a more fluent spoon shape. The front wing used since Barcelona (upper image) had a wide central part unlike any other team. The newest version was undoubtedly better for the high speed corners of Spa but it remains to be seen if this wing will be used for the rest of the season. At the outer edges, the tips are curved up, similar to what was seen on last year's FW29.
Also marked in the image is the slightly different no... Read more