Formula One car development blog
Renault bring R30 up to speed with F-duct
Renault has become the most recent team to add an F-duct, and in fact the last of the established teams to do so. The team was working on the device for months inside the factory, and upon introduction at Spa found it working as expected, a feat that Red Bull for instance did not enjoy at their introduction of the F-duct several races back.
Team manager Eric Bouillier was extremely happy after the race, and rightly so. During the race, the Renaults had top speeds matching those of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, something they previously could only dream of.
Renault's device is very similar to what can be seen on other cars, with the driver controlling the airflow through the duct with his left hand. The main air inlets for the duct are located aside of the roll hoop. This was the only way to add the device without changing the crash structure inside the airbox.
On a side note, both Force India cars at Spa were still 6km/h quicker down the straight than any of the title contenders.
Ferrari diffuser update at Spa
Ferrari have raced a new version of their exhaust blown diffuser at Spa. The team did not change anything on it since the exhaust blowing principle was copied from Red Bull and introduced at Valencia. The team decided to learn it as they ran it, and now is the first update on the concept.
As marked in the image, the profile of the lower and upper deck have been changed to improve downforce generation by means of the complex flow from the floor, the exhaust and around the sidepods.
Renault bring high downforce wing to Hungary
The Hungaroring is one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar regarding downforce, and hence many teams introduce new components to improve the car's handling around the twisty track.
Renault have one of the most obvious changes as it introduces a new rear wing, adding quite a bit of downforce to the car. The new device builds on the drop in the wing's centre and extends on that idea, now adding a small slot underneath the main wing. The most interesting bit of this configuration may well be the non-straight slot between the two main panels, which now are basically just one element with carefully design slot gap. As Renault still do not have an F-duct and while their plans on this are unclear, this is surely an attempt to fight back on the ever improving blown rear wings.
McLaren in the dark on flexing front wing
McLaren have been running a new front wing design since Silverstone, in many ways quite different to its opponents. The new wing - in the lower half of the image - has a slightly revised endplate but also includes a more elaborate vertical support ahead of the inner front tyre wall. While it supports the stacked element, it has now become an important element to manage the airflow over the wing and onto the front tyres.
Meanwhile though they have discovered the performance advantages Red Bull's flexing front wing might bring, and the team are desperately trying to understand the system, which so far they have failed to do. At the same time the team acknowledged that they are running somewhat behind in the blown diffuser area. At least they know what to do next...
Force India debut pitlight system
Force India have brought a new pit light system to the German GP. After extensive testing in the factory, the new system will replace the lollipop and should improve average pitstop times for the team. The lead technician will now press a button to switch the light to green.
A similar system was introduced by Ferrari in 2008 but abandoned after Felipe Massa's early exit from the box at the 2008 Singapore GP tore up a refuelling hose. The Scuderia is however again using the system this year, along with several other teams.
McLaren playing catch up with diffuser
After many teams surprised McLaren by coming up with a blown diffuser at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Woking had its blown diffuser ready at Silverstone, only to find though that it didn't work as expected. Diffusers and exhausts around them are an especially difficult area to model, and it is in this area that teams are suffering most of the in-season testing ban.
McLaren added shark gills on both sides in FP2 but finally decided against the system. Another new attempt will be done at the German GP in Hockenheim after the team has learned the system better thanks to the on-track data in Silverstone.
Williams move forward with blown rear end
Williams have introduced yet another major car update at Silverstone after introducing an effective F-duct at the previous Grand Prix, held at Valencia. The car already showed much improved pace in Spain, but at Silverstone both drivers could confirm their performances thanks to a new blown diffuser.
The change will obviously benefit the FW32 a lot as it previously featured high exhausts that appeared to disturb upper sidepod airflow quite a lot. The new sidepod slopes down much steeper, resembling much the design of the Red Bull. With this change, exhaust gases are now pushed onto the diffuser, allowing it to work more efficiently while drag will certainly have reduced above the sidepod.
Ferrari copy Red Bull exhaust system
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 of the suspension arms. The team also revised the rear brake ducts to make sure they don't fetch too much of the hot exhaust gases.
The change marks the departure of the high exhausts, introduced by Ferrari and quickly followed by its competitors. The last time a low exhaust was tried was on the McLaren MP4-18, again a Newey designed car. That one however had its exhausts exit into the diffuser, causing troubled pressure differences. The MP4-18 eventually got revised with high exhausts before it was first raced.
Brake duct development at Renault
With Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve being particularly hard on the brakes, all teams have modified their braking systems to cope with the additional demand. On a full lap, the cars are for 16% of the time under braking, more than any other track on the calendar.
Renault for instance clearly increased the brake duct aperture, catching more air to provide more cooling to the brake discs and pads (notice the difference with the Turkish configuration in the inset). Renault also ran a new front wing, removing the stacked elements of the wing. The rear wing was also modified, retaining the unique W-shape, but extending its curves and reducing the frontal surface of the wing.
Force India's F-duct helps season best qualifying
Force India has secured their year best qualifying session of the year with Liuzzi in 6th and Sutil in 9th position. The F-duct that was introduced in Turkey but only raced by Liuzzi is now on both cars and certainly helped them to make a step forward at Montreal, where low drag on the long straights is vital for good laptimes. The team's system is very similar to that of Ferrari, with inlets on each side of the airbox and a channel going into the rear wing through the shark fin.
Meanwhile the team also brought a smaller rear wing and changed the setting of its front wing to lower the angle of attack of the upper panel.
