Brake ducts are increasingly being designed and used as aero devices and Red Bull have even built their suspension uprights and wheel rims to work in conjunction with the ducts, so as to better direct hot airflow around the outside of the tyres. In this drawing you can see the central hub has a...»
Ferrari have brought a completely new rear wing with them to Spain. The endplates feature different gills (see main drawing) which have been inspired by those on the McLaren. You can see Ferrari's previous solution in the smaller inset. There is also a twisted beam wing and an additional 15cm-wide...»
Sauber have retained for the Spanish round all the new solutions they tested at Mugello. The most important is the adoption of McLaren-style exhausts, which has necessitated some modification of the C31's sidepods. The team, however, have kept the small opening in front of the rear tyres which they...»
The McLaren is sporting a much higher nose set-up (see bottom drawing) in Spain, after the team briefly evaluated it at last week's Mugello test. They had started the season with a much lower nose set-up (see top drawing). The new solution on the MP4-27 feeds a much more powerful airflow under the...»
Williams are running interesting rear brake ducts on the FW34 in Spain. They feature a new, extended element (see red arrows on main drawing) which closes the gap to the diffuser's side channel. This is designed to improve the flow of air in this area. The previous solution can be seen in the...»
The Red Bull is becoming more and more like the Sauber in this area. On Saturday in Bahrain both RB8s were without the innovative inlet in the lower section of the bodywork (highlighted) that channels exiting exhaust gases together with the hot air coming from the sidepods. Now this section of the...»
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have been using different front wings in Bahrain. Button has opted to run the new one, introduced in Shanghai, which features different upper flaps and no gills in the middle of the endplate (see inset). Hamilton, meanwhile, has chosen to use the old one...»
After their more significant Shanghai upgrade, Ferrari have brought just a small rear wing update to Bahrain. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have both tried running with a small wing (red arrow) on top of the beam wing to increase the efficiency of the rear wing's main top section. It's just 15cm...»
