Although Monte Carlo is the not most optimal location to introduce upgrades, many teams brought a series of new parts to the Principality. F1Technical’s Balázs Szabó reports on the teams’ relentless development work.

The first European round of the season usually sees teams debut a raft of upgrades, and that is the case this time again. With the Emilia Romagna scheduled as the opening European location, the field was eager to mount a vatiety of upgraded parts on their cars in Imola.

However, the horrible weather conditions forced the sport to cancel the event on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari which meant that teams had to decide whether they force though their new parts and debut them on the narrow streets of the Principality or postpone their introduction for the Spanish Grand Prix that is scheduled for next weekend.

The tight nature of the current competitive order has seemingly motivated teams to push their upgrades forward and trial them in Monte Carlo despite the usual difficulties posed by unforgiving street track where focus is usually on fine-tuning the mechanical setup of cars.

Ferrari

The Scuderia was set to introduce new parts on home turf in Imola which would have included tweaks to the rear suspension of their SF-23. The Maranello-based team has pushed on with the new parts for Monaco, debuting new rear corner components. The team said these components which include updated brake cooling inlet and suspension fairing are part of the standard development cycle and aim at improving local flow features and loading.

Furthermore, the team brought a circuit-specific rear wing which incorporates more loaded top and lower rear wing profiles. The new main and flap profiles aim to cover the low efficiency requirements of Monaco.

According to Team Principal Fred Vasserur, the team will bring further smaller bits to next weekend’s Barcelona round before debuting further small upgrades in Montreal, at the Red Bull Ring and in Silverstone.

Red Bull

Following their incredible run of success at the start of the 2023 F1 season, Red Bull are not resting on their laurels and bring new parts to most of the races instead.

In Monaco, the Milton Keynes-based outfit debuted a circuit specific rear wing which includes a greater camber of the span of the rear wing bi-plane. With the new element, the team increased the camber of the win across the span and usitized the maximum Z depth to attain the desire load on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo.

Moreover, Red Bull also debuted a reliability update which incorporates an alteration to the whishbone shroud which should allow the steering lock required in Monaco.

Mercedes

Mercedes have finally diceded to ditch the zeropod concept after realizing that they need to pursue another development route to close in on the field-leading Red Bull. The team was eager to debut the upgraded W14 in Imola last weekend, but they had to postpone the introduction of the B version of the 2023 F1 car due to the cancellation of the Italian round.

However, they did not waste any time by waiting another race for the debut of the updated and brought them to Monaco instead.

The most visible changes is around the sidepod inlets that have become much wider and higher. The team intends to improve flow to the floor edge which should result in more floor load and an improved flow to the rear corner. The floor fences have also gone through adjustments which should local load and improve flow to the diffuser.

The wider engine cover aims to increase local downforce and improve the flow to the rear wing. The floor itself has gone through significant changes as well with changes introduced in fence camber.

The team also brought a new rear wing to attain the downforce requirements of Monaco, increasing the camber of rear wing flap.

The suspension have also been modified with the top-wishbone forward leg having been lifted which should improve onset flow into the sidepod.

Alpine

Alpine debuted a raft of upgrades in Baku just a few weeks ago, and the Enstone-based outfit has brought another upgrade package to Monaco for this weekend.

The most visible of the upgrades is the change to the sidepod inlet which feature wider sidepods with deeper gulley. It should improve the airflow towards the top rear wing and beam wing.

The floow edge has also been modified which was required by the changed to the sidepod inlets.

At the front suspension of the car, the wishbones, pushrod and trackrod fairings have been modified to improve flow conditionings and elminiate local separations.

The rear wing and the beam wing have gone through circuit specific changes to suit for the track characteristics and high downforce nature of the Monte Carlo race course.

McLaren

Following a difficult Miami Grand Prix for the Woking-based outfit, McLaren is eager to present itself in a much stronger position in Monte Carlo. The Britsh team has brought severale upgrades to the Principality including a new lower winglet endplate at the rear corner which alters the local flow structures and load distribution on the winglet itself as well as the rearward underfloor.

There are three circuit-specific upgrades available for McLaren this weekend with modifications to the front corner, rear wing and beam wing all aimed to meet the special requirements of the Monaco street track.

Moreover, the team has modified the floor fences which is not a performance development, but it is in line with TD-029 which was due to come into effect for Imola.

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo has brought three circuit-specific modifications including a new profile for the main place of the rear wing and a new profile for the beam wing, and new cooling louvres.

With the adjustments to the floor edge and floor body, the teams intends to improve the aerodynamic performance of the car with both changes originally scheduled for Imola.

The most visible changes is a new engine cover that sports a different shape and different connection to the top of the floor which should better direct airflow and hence improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.

Aston Martin

Following their eye-catching form in the first five rounds of the season, Aston Martin has introduced five upgrades in Monte Carlo.

The front suspension has been upgraded with the upper wishbone having a slightly modified twist distribution which sould help the local loads. The lower deflector of the first corner has also been adjusted to work better with the front wing.

Small changes haven been introduced to the rear suspension fairings which should suit the modified rear brake ducts. Moreover the rear corner and the rear wing have also been adjusted to accommodate to the needs of the lower efficiency of the Monaco circuit.
Haas

Following their upgrade to the floor in Miami, Haas has brought a new front wing to Monaco with the team introducing four new profile geometries along the front wing span which should work better with the lower front suspension leg and front tyres.

Few modifications have also been introduced at the front suspension geometry which should help drivers to be able to correctly control the car in the ultra-low speed turns of the Monaco track.

AlphaTauri

The Faenza-based outfit has debuted a raft of significant updates in Monaco. The floor body, floor fences and floor edge have all been adjusted which should generate increased load.

The diffuser has also gone through changes with the new version sporting modified vertical sidewalls which should increase the outwash effect and keep the rear tyre wakes further outboard, thereby reducing blockage at the diffuser exit for increased local load.

The sidepod inlets and engine cover have been modified as well which should result in the increase of flow to the floor edges and hence the increase of local load.

At the front of the car, the position of the outboard trackrod has been moved rearward relative to the brake drum face which should give greater road wheel angle for the same steering wheel angle compared to the standard outboard trackrod position.

The team has also modificed the upper rear wing elements and the rear wing endplates to generate the maximum amount of downforce.

Williams

Williams have updated the front suspension of their car with a change in steering arm length and a revised cladding on front suspension elements.

Moreover, the Grove based outfit have a larger rear wing and beam wing which deliver increased load for the specific requirements of the Monaco circuit. Another track-specific change is the adjustment to the front brake duct which has been increased in size for Monte Carlo.