Formula One car development blog

McLaren have come up with the first real innovation of the year by creating rear suspension wishbones that are very different to what we usually see. It is the normal approach to have a horizontal teardrop design, almost parallel to the reference plane in order to minimize drag created by the suspension elements. McLaren's version though as just a bit different.

The team's approach is far away from drag reduction. Instead, the elements are rather big with a cross section similar to ... Read more

Scuderia Ferrari have introduced another part to their F138, namely a new sidepod panel with a small bridge bending over the sidepod shoulder. The item was previously tested during free practice sessions, but before the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend never made it past Friday evening. At Autodromo Carlos Pace however, both cars had the new element fitted during qualifying, hence they will also be used during tomorrow's Grand Prix.

The item is designed to better control airflow over t... Read more

Williams started the Abu Dhabi weekend by fitting Pastor Maldonado's FW35 with a non-coanda exhaust configuration, trying to do some testing for 2014 where such an exhaust will be entirely banned. Even though the exhaust positions are not quite what it will have to be in 2014- where a single exhaust pipe in the centre of the car will be mandatory - , the team hoped that be removing the exhaust channel (inset) they would get more consistent readings that are not that much influenced ... Read more

McLaren continue to add small updates to its car, possibly evaluating the effect of items with 2014 in mind. Already seen in Korea, the front wing had new pillars, moved back considerably. In fact the entire middle part of the front wing is new, along with the positions of the camera in between the pillars. Moving them backward meant that the team can better exploit the venturi effect that is being created by the long pillars, a feature that is rather common today in F1, as is the l... Read more

The Singapore Grand Prix weekend has repeatedly been dubbed as the decisive point in the season for Ferrari to see whether or not it should continue to develop its F138. In a final attempt to keep in the championship race, the team came up with a raft of updates and will evaluate after the race if it was enough to stay in the hunt for a championship. Initial Friday sings though show that Ferrari may have dropped back to the pace it had at Hungary and other high downforce tracks in t... Read more

The McLaren MP4-28 hasn't been the greatest car of the year, particularly because of the change to a pull rod front suspension. The team admitted earlier that this is one of the reasons why the car is underperforming, as the aerodynamic effects of this change affected the entire car. McLaren largely underestimated the effort if would take, and consequently started changing the front wing early in the season to try to get the car back on track.

The result is a fairly simple front wi... Read more

Red Bull Racing appears extremely determined to break the competition and secure the titles as soon as possible to be able to focus 100% on the 2014 project. As Monza hasn't been the strongest of venues for RBR, the team has gradually been pinpointing its weakest points and improving those, resulting in the impressive form displayed by the RB9 on Friday.

The team have basically brought two new front wing configurations. The first one featuring a cut out upper flap as used by Sebasti... Read more

Ferrari have traditionally put a lot of effort into their home Grand Prix package, and this year is no different, although it seems that the other top teams have put in quite some effort as well. Contrary to Spa-Francorchamps where one needs great front stability along with less drag, Monza is even more about drag reduction and top speeds, as there are less corners that require a large amount of front downforce.

Just like many other teams, Ferrari brought a new front wing that featu... Read more

Even though it has been a point of interest since the very beginning of the season, the possibility of Red Bull Racing to run such shallow rear wings and still retain great traction is something that draws much attention. The team continues to do this as it is seemingly the most efficient way for them to keep up their top speed nearby to what other cars can achieve.

Of course, at Hungary, maximum downforce is required, and there the team ran a very big rear wing, but so were all oth... Read more

Red Bull Racing have been working on the sidepod area to better control airflow at the rear of the car. Part of its update package included a sidepod panel with modified bridge, making one of the vortex generators obsolete. Inward of the remaining vortex generator is a new flow conditioner, similar but less wide than the version seen on the Lotus E21. It is interesting to note that Red Bull's bridge that connected the sidepod to the vertical fence is very neutral, whereas the versio... Read more