Formula One car development blog

McLaren have finally jumped into Renault's and Ferrari's footsteps by adding little winglets at each side of the cockpit. The idea was already introduced in 2006 by Honda but back then in the form of a thicker element. Renault then also started using it in 2006 while Ferrari introduced their 'knives' earlier this year. All designs are some kind of a lift generating aerofoil ahead of the mirrors to direct a little extra airflow into the sidepod inlets. Its effects are highly unpredic... Read more

Honda drivers Barrichello and Button have been using different rear wings at the Canadian Grand Prix. Jenson Button's version is very similar to the rear wing used at several other races this year as it features the same profile but has an extra gurney flap to it. Surprisingly, this will increase downforce. The wing used by Rubens Barrichello sports a cut out upper plane, as marked by the arrows. Such design is a quick solution for lower drag and downforce on the same wing, although... Read more

For a low downforce circuit like at Montreal, BMW have reverted their nose cone to the design that was visible at the car's launch. On the right is the spec of Barcelona, which clearly shows the wings on top of the nose cone. While it helps to create downforce, such winged nose cone does create an amount of drag that is unwanted at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The left part of the image is the Canadian specification.

In accordance with an FIA request to prevent flexing of the bridge wings, McLaren, Red Bull, Toyota and Williams have added small supports on top of the nose cone to make sure the bridge element of their front wings do not flex down at high speeds. Renault who also have a bridged wing already had a support very similar to that introduced by the other 'bridged' teams.

In an attempt to maximise downforce, Toyota have designed a new rear wing that holds an extra slot in the middle of the wingspan. The team thereby use a loophole in the regulations that stipulate two closed elements for the rear wing. Since the rule applies only to the wing between 150mm and 480mm of the centreline, an extra slot was possible. This allows the wing in that area to be steeper without risking to stall it.
Additionally, you can also see in the picture that Toyota had a ... Read more

Recently at Monaco, Williams and Toyota added winglets inside of their sidepod panels to add a bit of central downforce to their cars. When the panels were first introduced in Formula One - by Honda in 2006 - the inside winglets were fairly standard when most teams copied the design. Today, the panels are more focused on improving airflow and generating downforce at the rear end of the car. Monaco is however a special case, where due to its low speeds, aero efficiency is less import... Read more

Red Bull have developed an extra large bridge for its front wing at Monaco. In an attempt to create additional downforce, the chord length all over the span has been increased, allowing to better redirect airflow. At both sides, the Monaco spec also features wing gaps, a novelty for Red Bull but a well known solution for McLaren already. The slot opening also allows for a higher angle of attack of the upper element, as is also indicated in the image.

After leaving its vented nose design home for the Turkish GP, the opened nose was again present for at Monaco. Generally, the nose will be used by the Scuderia at tracks where most frontal downforce is needed, while its principle of design is not favourable for circuits where the front wing is set at low angles of attack. The team did however slightly improve the design by adding a little aerofoil at each side of the nose to increase the effect of the air channel. The aerofoils help... Read more

Honda have developed several new bits to increase the frontal downforce of the car. While winglets on the outer sides of the front wing end plates have been removed, a new - unpainted - element on the inside was added, effectively chasing the effect of double deck front wing but at a less effective scale. The main panel on the other hand has a cut-out where it attaches to the end places, allowing a better flow into the brake coolers.
Also marked are new endplates that were added to ... Read more

Traditionally at Monaco, all teams add downforce wherever they can. Toyota have taken a major step as they have a new rear wing, again the inboard mirrors and this new front wing. Above is the new Monaco spec, which clearly has more surface to its main plane (the little cutout as marked on the Turkey spec was left out). Apart from that, the base plane was also altered and now a little more curvy around the spoon shape and at the outer extremities. The outer changes are particularly ... Read more