Formula One car development blog

Williams F1 started the season with high hopes after it was so proud of developing a new extremely low gearbox. This allowed the designers to clean up airflow at the central rear part of the car. While early performance measures during winter tests were still promising, a real race weekend quickly showed the car's lack of speed.

By that time, Williams were already working hard on a now exhaust solution. When Red Bull showed up at testing with their exhausts blowing around the diffus... Read more

Force India F1 have followed Ferrari and McLaren in adding an extension to the wheels to help brake cooling and control the wake behind the front wheel. Since teams started adding static wheel fairings at the fronts and dynamic carbon fibre items glued inside the rim, the FIA put down some regulations that limit freedom, but nonetheless still allow some creative benefits. The additions must now be a rigid part of the rims and be made of AZ70 or AZ80 magnesium alloy, just like the ri... Read more

The troubled HRT have finally managed to get some new parts through customs, now including a completely new nose and front wing assembly. Because the new nose didn't pass the crash test in time, HRT had to run the old version, including a 2010 front wing which was a bad match with the rest of the car.

At Malaysia, things appear to be on the upper hand, as both cars were running well within the 107% on Friday. Part of this is surely because of the updated front wing which lacks the e... Read more

Once again Red Bull have devised another blown diffuser system, even after rules were made more strict. The team's car now makes use of the energized exhaust flow to separate the laminar flow of the rear wheels from the diffuser's airflow, hence creating a much more efficient diffuser and beam wing combination.

To make this work efficiently though, it is important that flow from the exhausts is more or less constant, or otherwise put, the car's behaviour will be more predictable whe... Read more

After running regular brake ducts at all of the winter tests, McLaren showed up in Melbourne with a gauze fitted onto the brake duct. Knowing that Albert Park is a street circuit in the middle of a park where leafs are all over the track, such a gauze makes sense to prevent any object getting stuck into the duct and preventing decent brake cooling.

Although this certainly is helpful, there is an efficiency penalty as air is slowed down, and as such less molecules will flow into the ... Read more

Apart from McLaren's surprising pace, the current hot topic is again Red Bull's flexing front wing. Last year there were similar worries after which the FIA introduced a beefed up front wing flexing test at the Belgian GP. However, even with the changed test, Red Bull still appear to have a major advantage at high speeds, hence allowing Vettel and Webber to gain a massive amount of time through quick turns.

It is evident that Red Bull passes each and every test, but the team appear ... Read more

As a final update on their FW32, Williams have introduced new brake ducts for both the front and rear brakes. The new ducts feature a shield to prevent airflow into the duct to be disturbed by the rotating front wheel. This design feature is far from new and teams like Renault or McLaren have been running it since the beginning of the season.

It is however likely that Williams have now changed the front brake ducts to better work with the new front wing they introduced in Singapore.... Read more

Just as rumours suggested in recent days and weeks, Ferrari's aerodynamic update at Valencia includes a revised exhaust system that mimicks the Red Bull's design. Rather than exiting the exhaust gases through the upper side of the sidepods, the pipes are now relocated to push gases out just above the car's flow, ahead of the rear diffuser.

At the same time, Ferrari also shielded its lower wishbones to protect them from the heat while strips are added to measure the exact temperature... 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

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