Technical: Ferrari and five teams to introduce updates in Suzuka

With the Japanese Grand Prix being the second weekend of a flyaway double-header, not many teams have brought significant upgrades to the challenging Suzuka International Race Course. However, there are a few outfits up and down the pit lane that have introduced some new parts in this dying stage of the 2023 F1 season.

Following their dip in form in recent races, Aston Martin has brought a new front brake duct scoop that features a reduced inlet size compared to the previous version.

The smaller inlet area reduces massflow in the brake duct and hence the cooling of the discs. The Silverstone-based outfit believes that this configuration suits the Suzuka circuit best that sports lower braking requirements.

The Grove-based outfit has made tweaks to the floor fences of their FW45. The main change revolved around the height of the most inboard forward floor fence that has been reduced. The team hopes that the trim of the most inboard forward floor fence will offload the fence that affects both the local load and the rearward flow field.

Following their first win in 2023, Ferrari has introduced a new floor specification in Japan with an eye on 2024 . The Scuderia has not brought any major upgrade since the Austrian Grand Prix that took place at the beginning of July. The new floor is expected to be the last significant update for Ferrari on their SF23.

The floor update included revisions of front floor fences, floor edge, mid floor and diffuser sidewall. Ferrari have also made tweaks to the sidepod undercut to suit the floor changes. The team hopes that the changes have been introduced to focus on load management across the length of the floor.

Mercedes
Mercedes brought their latest big upgrade package in Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix that was the last round before the summer break.

The Brackley-based outfit has now introduced a vane that has been added to the outer face of the rear wing endplate. The team hopes that the new vane will generate a vortex which in turn produces a small amount of downforce and drag.

McLaren brought a major upgrade package to last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix which only Lando Norris received. The upgrades included a revised front wing geometry to provide a gain of aerodynamic load and a reshaped engine cover to improve flow. At Suzuka, the British team has also equipped Oscar Piastri's car with the new parts

Moreover, the Woking-based outfit has introduced a new Beam Wing geometry in Japan that features a reshaped upper and lower element, reducing aerodynamic load and drag efficiently with this new version of beam wing particularly suiting the demands of the Suzuka track.

The sidepod inlet has also been modified with the addition of a packer, which improves local flow conditioning and results in improved cooling performance.

Following their struggles in the first half of the season, AlphaTauri introduced a new upgrade package at Singapore with which the team intended to address the rear-end stability issues.

The Faenza-based outfit debuted further new parts at Suzuka. The rear wing has been modified with its endplate junction with the rear wing elements having been updated. The updated tips increase the efficiency of the assembly of this rear wing drag level with AlphaTauri's engineers believing that this version is best suited for the demands of the Suzuka track.

A further development revolved around the rear view mirror assembly. Compared to the baseline configuration, three turning vanes have been removed from the outboard mirror stem. This new version was only a test item that the team has already tested previously. The removal of the three vanes is believed to reduce drag.

Red Bull, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Alpine have not brought any updates to the Japanese Grand Prix.