Formula One car development blog

Red Bull were starting to miss their duck resembling noses and hence changed the previous one to one that more fits its tradition. The new nose is wider and also slightly higher than the version which the team used for the first 7 Grand Prix. In order to prevent the obligated camera housing from mixing up the airflow too much, the team chose to move them forward as much as possible, effectively putting them to use as straighteners for the airflow alongside the nose cone.

Also note t... Read more

The Toyota TF109 has also seen some updates at the Turkish Grand Prix weekend, including aerodynamic tweaks in the front. New for instance is the modified front wing endplate of which the outer small panel now features an upward flip to help manage airflow ahead of the front wheels.

This area is particularly interesting as the wheels generate a lot of drag while a steadier airflow can also help to keep the brakes cool. Therefore the team also changed the cooling inlets while the whe... Read more

BMW Sauber have taken a long time to design and manufacture a double decker diffuser to replace the more conventional one that followed 'the spirit of the rules'. The new version immediately proved effective as Robert Kubica was there within the points, while in Bahrain they were no where near the midfield.

The new diffuser resembles much that of Brawn with an empty keel structure in the middle and an early exit above it for additional downforce. It also pick up an idea of Toyota by... Read more

The Brawn GP design team have been looking carefully at Ferrari's front wing compared to their own. Previously that resembled a lot to BMW Sauber's design as it features two upper flaps with the actuator mechanism in the middle of these flaps. The new wing however is completely different and sports only one flap. The most important advantage of this will be the adjustability for the drivers. Previously they only has control of a small panel of which they could change the angle of at... Read more

Since Spain, Brawn is introducing updates all over its car, some smaller than others. At Monaco the BGP 001 featured updated mirror supports. Up to now, the team was running a twin element support while the new version is a much thicker aerofoil. Such in-season change of a previously simple element marks the team's search for performance improvement in areas where aerodynamic development is still allowed.

It's finally there! There has been talk about it for more than a month, but Adrian Newey's design team have finished their version of a double deck diffuser, a device that brings several tenths of a second per lap. Newey has however claimed that while it will be some step at Monaco, the new design should benefit the car more at circuits with high speed corners.

The new diffuser adds an exit channel above and ahead of the usual one which has a constant height over the whole span of t... Read more

Following the introduction of an updated diffuser at Spain, Force India has fitted a new rear wing on its 2009 car. Just like so many other teams, FI is exploiting the small central region of the rear wing where it is allowed to have more than two closed sections.

FI's solution is however quite distinctive as the team have chosen to add an extra little wing above the other elements. At the same time, the existing elements were modified to create an extra slot, similar to that of the... Read more

For the high downforce requirements of the circuit in Monte Carlo, McLaren have designed a new rear wing. The new item now features a completely horizontal leading edge, ditching the curvature in the middle. The resulting lower leading edge will allow the wing to catch a little more air and hence create a stronger downward force.

Additionally, the team also looked at Toyota's central third element, only allowed in the middle section of the wing. While not applicable for the complete... Read more

Ferrari were suddenly in much better shape at Spain thanks to a new rear end package. While previously the sidepods ended in between the rear wheels, a big air exhaust is now in place further ahead. The solution is very similar to an update that Renault introduced at the Chinese GP.

Along with it, the engine cover was redesigned to form a slightly lower curve, aiming to provide better efficiency of the rear wing due to a cleaned up air stream. Close to the car's centre however, the ... Read more

BMW Sauber finally introduced a major aerodynamic upgrade at Spain after struggling badly in the initial stages of the season. Already before the first Grand Prix, the team found the car's airflow around and onto the sidepods. The front end of the sidepod in particular was worrisome as it caused varying air pressure underneath the car and hence unpredictable downforce levels. An interim solution slightly helped, until now the team redesigned the complete front.

First of all, the sid... Read more