Formula One car development blog
Renault revises sidepod shape
Renault have been very quick introducing new bits on its R29 contender, and part of their rear end update at China was a heavily revised sidepod ending. In sharp contrast with version seen at the launch, the new sidepods have more openings to provide extra cooling. As such the team could slim down the bodywork quite a bit and ditch its undercut hot air channel between the rear wheels.
A disadvantage of allowing more hot air to escape earlier on in the air stream, the sidepod components are exposed to much more heat. After initial running at Bahrain today, the team decided to fit additional titanium plates close to the exhaust to prevent the bodywork from burning.
A new front wing for Alonso's R29
Apart from a whole range of changes on the rear end of the car, Renault have also changed their front wing to be more efficient. The above detail image is the new Shangai version for Alonso, while the lower one is that used in the 2 earlier races and by Piquet at Shangai. The latter will undoubtedly soon also have this update once the team finish manufacturing of a second one.
Marked by the arrows is the trailing edge of the main flap, now featuring sharp cuts and a more elaborate gurney flap - the latter painted white as of Saturday's free practice.
Frontal airflow management on Toyota TF109
Although the lacklustre showing in qualifying suggests otherwise, Toyota keep on working on their TF109. One little detail we spotted is the addition of a small winglet on their sidepod panel. As it concerns a fairly flat aerofoil, it looks like it's aimed at reducing turbulence from behind the front wheels, attempting to improve the flow towards the rear end of the car.
Also marked in the image are the turning vanes that Toyota have been using. Fitted in between the front wheels and just under the nose, it is also aimed at directing airflow better. This element is particularly interesting because the FIA aimed at banned this kind of elements with the new regulations, but with the right approach something is still possible there. It is this area that Renault is using to make its venturi under the nose cone of the Renault R29.
McLaren introduce stacked front wing
In an attempt to crawl back up the grid, McLaren are doing everything in their power to find extra downforce. One of these measures is an additional deck on the front wing (upper part of image), similar to Red Bull's, and to a lesser extent Toyota's front wing. The element is proven design since Renault introduced it in 2005 on its championship winning Renault R25 and has found wide adoption this year after the more efficient bridge wing solutions were banned for 2009.
Ferrari express support for Abruzzo
It's not all politics and money in Formula One. Ferrari have slightly changes their car livery by adding a support message for Abruzzo, Italy. This Italian province has been badly struck by repeated earthquakes in recent weeks, making several hundreds of victims. Toyota's Jarno Trulli has earlier declared that he will be looking to raise some money among the drivers for the unfortunate Italians.
Red Bull revise year old brake ducts
Somehow the previous design must have been a fairly efficient one as Red Bull have been using the round brake duct (left of image) since at least the beginning of 2008. As of that design, Red Bull have always consistently built their ducts from Windform XT, a rapid prototyping material often used to create the models tested in windtunnels.
The latest design is from the same material but changes the shape of the air inlet. The outer part, closest to the wheel is now (right of image) in line with the tyre wall. It still points down so that it exactly matches the direction of airflow behind the front wing's elements.
Legality of Brawn exhausts questioned
Apart from the double deck exhaust, the Brawn BGP001 now appears to be under fire for its exhausts. Racecar engineering have discovered that Brawn adapted (right) its car after the Australian GP at Melbourne after its exhausts were seen protruding the design (left). It is believed the change was fuelled by informal requests of other teams. Earlier on, in winter testing Ferrari faces the same problem and adapted its bodywork and exhaust system to comply with the strict letter of the regulations.
Article 3.8.5 states that after the bodywork is in compliance with every other regulation, one aperture on each side of the car is allowed for the engine exhausts. The question is now whether the exhausts are then considered part of the bodywork or not.
As far as we know however, no formal complaint has been made by rival teams for the BGP 001's configuration at Melbourne, so the team may well be concentrating on the upcoming appeal handling relating to its diffuser.
Directing air around the front wheels
The new wider front wings have caused the endplate to have a significantly different function than was previously the case. Instead of trying to direct air in between the front wheels, this year's endplates aim to direct air around the front wheels. While some teams debuted their cars with solutions to move air both sides of the front wheels, the Brawn way has proven more efficient. Although not the only team with this approach, the front wing endplates of the BGP001 show intelligent design.
The leading edge of the yellow part catches air inside the end plate system, while the outer two plates work in conjunction to efficently direct airflow around the rotating front wheel. The additional outer elements has already proved to be interesting for other teams as many have already copied the design - although less developed but as an add-on on their existing designs.
Red Bull open up RB5 for additional cooling
Formula One teams often open up extra cooling apertures in the bodywork to allow better cooling for the car's internals. The hot temperatures have forced Red Bull to open the tail end of the engine cover, just where the shark fin begins. Additionally, on each side of the cockpit, one small opening was made. Any aperture further away from the cockpit is impossible due to this year's regulations.
Equally interesting is to see how the car is designed to provide as smooth as possible airflow onto the car's rear wing. The outboard mirrors are out of the way, while the steep slope of the sidepods and low positioning of the exhausts allow to an optimal airflow towards the upper and lower elements of the rear wing.
Williams carefully improve floor efficiency
Because of a considerable simplification of upper bodywork, the aerodynamicists at Williams are spending a lot of time to investigate the efficiency of the car's underbody. It is well known the this part of the car can bring a lot of downforce with a low drag penalty. For the same reason, the team developed their double step diffuser which reportedly is good for 15% more downforce compared to the simple designs that follow 'the spirit of the rules'.
More at the front though, at the sidepod's entry, the outer edge of the car's floor curves up. In this area, the airflow is from the inside of the car towards the outside due to the splitter underneath the cockpit. To guide this airflow, the upward edge of the floor effectively creates a venturi which reduces pressure under that section of the floor and hence creates downforce. The 3 vertical elements under that curve help straighten the airflow similar to the elements attached under the frontwing or in the diffuser.
