Formula One car development blog
Williams up to speed, new engine cover
Williams development is up to speed as new elements are rolling out of the factory quickly. At the Spanish GP, the team introduced a new front wing profile while at Turkey another step was made on the front wing. As a third car now, following Red Bull and Renault, the FW30 is being equipped with a shark fin engine cover. The solution is however more elegant and resembles more the version of BMW Sauber. While the added surface improves rear stability under yaw, the all new winglet fixed just ahead and above the rear wing adds a bit of downforce, just like one can expect with Monaco in eyesight.
Williams copy 2-week old Renault design
Williams have copied Renault's new upper deck front wing design, just two weeks after the French team first raced it. For Renault it was part of their Barcelona aerodynamic package that lifted the team's performance considerably. As marked in the image, the new wing sports small endplates where the nose bridge and the downforce generating panels connect. Despite being less aesthetically pleasing, the solution allows to put a more aggressive angle of attack to the upper elements while helping to reduce the induced drag from it.
Note that this solution was only used by Rosberg and only during the race.
Front wheel fairings make definitive entry
Since Ferrari introduced their front wheel fairing last year at Silverstone, several other teams have been diligently investigating the system and trying to fit it onto their own cars. At the Turkish GP, 6 teams were running front wheel fairings. From top left to bottom right, Red Bull, Ferrari, Honda, Renault and McLaren. Surprisingly, BMW is not running any covers, not at the front or rear wheels, despite showing them off at the car's launch. While many have tested both BMW's solution (closed when looking from the side of the wheel, none of them are running it. Honda for example were running closed fairings at last Barcelona test but decided to run Ferrari-like covers at Turkey for the first time. Renault and Red Bull started using theirs at the Spanish GP while McLaren have their own design as of the season opening Australian GP.
All new W-wing for Honda
Honda have raced their new W-shaped rear wing for the first time at Turkey. It had previously been tested at Barcelona before the Spanish GP. Previously, Honda's rear wing was a simple shaped horizontal aerofoil with an equal angle of attack over the entire span. For the new wing, the team appear to have started from scratch with some noticeable influence from Ferrari. The element now has a very curved lower element and, as a result, a variable angle of attack along the width of the wing. As Turkey requires slightly less downforce compared to Barcelona, this wing is more beneficial as it is induces less drag. In one move, new endplates were introduced that show some resemblence with the plates used by Renault in their 2006 spec Renault R26.
Williams go their own way on front wing design
Williams continue to design their front wing independent of what the other teams are doing. The wing that was used in the first three races, as in the lower image, already was distinct as it featured a very smoothly curved base plane profile. This time around, the engineers left the bridge element unchanged, but changed all the rest. The Barcelona spec front wing sports 3 completely separate panels contrary to the previously half open main plane. Apart from that, the leading edge contains a big central spoon shape. The wing will undoubtedly add downforce at the front, but as the results of the Spanish GP show, it didn't have the desired effect that Williams were chasing.
More front wing downforce drives Alonso
It is no secret that Renault have put high hopes on their Barcelona update, and the Grand Prix even stunned their own guys. Apart from their new elongated engine cover, the French team also developed a new front wing that features important changes to the bridge element. In order to add downforce and driveability, the upper element is now split up in downforce generating aerofoils on each side and a central bridge section. The latter is now an almost perfectly round bow over the nose cone. The outer elements that are designed for downforce are now wider and have an increased surface. At their connections to the central bridge bow, Renault also added tiny endplates, a first in bridge wing designs.
The wing was first used at the Spanish GP but was tested at first by Nelson Piquet during the pre-european Barcelona test.
An extended sidepod panel for Toyota too
Just like Renault copied BMW Sauber's idea already at the beginning of the season, Toyota have not also seen the light and produced a similar item for their TF108. In fact it looks very similar to Renault's sidepod panel extention. It also features, as indicated in the image, the leading edge is curved inwards on the lower half of the element. This detail helps to direct air around the sidepods and towards the gearbox area.
Also in their new package update, Toyota have slightly changed their painting scheme as they no longer leave closed chimney unpainted, but instead have it painted all red. Hopefully for the drivers, it means that the chimneys won't have to be opened up anymore.
Marketed wheel fairings on Honda RA108
All teams have been very busy testing their new wheel fairings during the Barcelona test, but Honda have added an extra bit of value to the wheel covers. Essentially, the covers are a carbon fibre shield that helps with the cooling of the front brakes. Marked in the image are on the right an air inlet to accellerate cooling while on the left a small outlet - pic taken from the right of the car.
Despite being very useful, they generally don't sell well to the wide public as they cover up shiny magnesium wheels. But Honda comes to the rescue by painting their new fairings in their blue and green earthdream colours. No doubt more teams will follow.
Red Bull add extended sidepod panel, wheel fairings
Sidepod panels that extend down to the barge boards are the new must-have. Red Bull have created their version on the idea, rather similar to Renault's design. It appears as if the two teams are working together, as on the same day, Renault introduced its Red Bull style engine cover. The new panels help to streamline turbulent air from behind the rear wheel and can potentially add quite some downforce at the back end of the car. Part of that extra downforce is also provided by the new front wheel fairing.
Ferrari continue tiny adjustements to barge boards
Although not spectacular, Ferrari's F2008 is a car in constant evolution. At Barcelona, the barge board were again updated (see image). Previously, the diagonal edge was slightly shorter, while during winter testing there was only a vertical edge. Variations of this diagonal edge barge board was also seen at Red Bull and provides a means of combining the best of both worlds: jagged edged and straight edged barge boards.
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