Formula One car development blog

Since a few races, Honda has introduced a new front wing with 3 panels instead of their usual bi-plane configuration. Still, with problems in the wind tunnel, the team cannot verify improvements. As a result, the drivers get to run with both wings during the most recent race weekends but appear unable to decide either. Both men were seen running the double plane wing in free practice while they ran the race with 3 elements. It is a possibility that the race-wing does wear off the ty... Read more

Renault have added a small slit into the lower element of the rear wheel flipup. The change was introduced at the European GP at the Nürburgring, not accidentally coinciding with the addition of their new front wing. The wing was said to generally improve the car's handling and reduce rear tyre wear while also requiring a vastly different car set-up. As the flipup largely works on air that already passed the front wing, this item shows how important it is to look at the car as a who... Read more

Red Bull have been busy during the summer break and are the first team to introduce a front wing that snatches McLaren's bridged wing idea. While previously the upper elements were attached to the nose, they now join over the nose cone to condition airflow. However, the new wing is more than just that. Every single flap has been redesigned. It is most visibly in the leading edge of the base plane. During the first 11 races of 2007 that was a simple and elegant spoon shape which has ... Read more

Ferrari have brought an update on their famous front wheel fairing. Having it introduced only at Silverstone, the static wheel fairing is designed to improve brake cooling. As a 'side effect' it will undoubtedly improve airflow around the wheel. Even more so now as Ferrari developed an extra addition to the fairing. To further decrease the aerodynamic drag by the rotating wheel and the hot air exit, the team designed a winglet which is added above the wheel nut. Please also note an ... Read more

The higher downforce settings on F1 cars - as required in the 2 latest Grand Prix' - induce an increased amount of drag. Designing a winning car is therefore a never ending compromise based on the required downforce levels. In their high downforce rear wing, Red Bull have made a small cut in the middle of the wing. The airflow onto that area of the rear wing is actually slightly disrupted by the airbox ahead of it. Cutting this tip out prevents the generation of unwanted drag for ve... Read more

As part of a new rear wing package introduced at the Nurburgring, McLaren have dropped their horns that were fitted on the McLaren cars since the beginning of 2005. The elements were designed initially to improve airflow on the rear wing under yaw. However, the new rear wing introduced now has a bumped middle section similar to the rear wing of Ferrari. It obviously improves performance under yaw and makes the horns useless. Additionally, dropping the horns will reduce overall drag ... Read more

Renault is working long days lately in order to regain some of their beloved pace that they showed in 2005 and 2006. This year proves to be troublesome for the French team as the Bridgestone tyres have a worrying effect on downforce. As a result, another new front wing has been developed. Although initially planned for Hungary it was already fitted on the car at the European Grand Prix. The new wing has a deeper spoon curve under the nose tip to improve low speed downforce. Similar ... Read more

Ferrari are really putting in a huge effort to make up for the lost ground because of windtunnel problems earlier on in the season. Now that everything is back on track, developments are clear and pay off. The Italian team has brought a new sidepod vane to the three-day test at Spa. The new panel in the upper image is now open in the middle and features a slit similar to what McLaren introduced albeit slightly more subtle.

While the Scuderia Ferrari is quickly adding new bits onto their car, Red Bull have lately been stuck with their gearbox problems. Without major new aero enhancements in the last races, the team appears to have closely looked to the red cars. New vertical splitters were added underneath the front wing main place to improve downforce. Surprisingly, they have introduced this at this week's Spa Francorchamps test which is known to be a medium to low downforce track. In contrast to Ferr... Read more

Ferrari have once again developed a new rim cover, but this time it has been so thoroughly developed that it doesn't rotate with the wheel any more. The new cover is fitted inside the front wheel to help brake disk cooling. The assembly comes with a newly developed wheel nut (see left image). The nut consist of a central, silver coloured part that does not rotate and is fixed to the wheel axis. Around it is a blue part that does rotate with the wheel. When the fronts wheels are now ... Read more