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Is this a new update? I don't remember exactly when they updated their sidepods for the cooling issues they were having in pre-season testing.

It looks like it could help trap air into the sidepod preventing the air from spilling out. Anybody have any ideas?

To me it has'nt change much but that is strange, since the old sidepod works well but now it's even tighter(another cooling problem possibly?). I aslo noticed a small bulge on the end there

The lower picture shows that the leading vertical edge is slightly further back, looking at it relative to the mirrors.

The upper leading edge has a deep scallop out of it.

The chimneys also look like they have been moved further back as well.

This all assumes that the lower picture is the most recent one so everything would be moving forward it the top one is the most recent

The lower picture is definitely the most recent one. I recall seeing it on the Melbourne onboard footage.

It could be like the inlet design of an aircraft engine nacelle. The stagnation point on the inlet is just inside the actual inlet leading edge, forcing the air spillage to accelerate around the leading edge - producing a local thrust/reducing global drag.

thanks for the replies, sorry i didn't say which was which, but the upper one is from pre-season and new pic is from today at barcelona.

kilcoo would your explanation account for increased flow through the radiator? it seems that if the air were less likely to spill out of the high pressure region formed in front of the inlet, that you would get better flow through the radiator.

if it does, it would account for a decent upgrade to the cooling system i'm sure. must be a Newey part, right?

BTW, you can get aftermarket sheet metal panels for road cars that will shroud the radiator preventing air from going around it, increasing it's effectiveness. i've heard they work quite well, and i'm thinking of making one for my car.

ginsu wrote: kilcoo would your explanation account for increased flow through the radiator?

No, the radiator itself would determine that more (I think), I'm not sure if the same principles carry across exactly, in that the blockage formed by the radiator will transmit upstream to the stream-tube in the same fashion as a turbofan in cruise. If it does, they can design the sidepod to get some thrust (reduce drag).

ginsu wrote:thanks for the replies, sorry i didn't say which was which, but the upper one is from pre-season and new pic is from today at barcelona.

kilcoo would your explanation account for increased flow through the radiator? it seems that if the air were less likely to spill out of the high pressure region formed in front of the inlet, that you would get better flow through the radiator.

if it does, it would account for a decent upgrade to the cooling system i'm sure. must be a Newey part, right?

BTW, you can get aftermarket sheet metal panels for road cars that will shroud the radiator preventing air from going around it, increasing it's effectiveness. i've heard they work quite well, and i'm thinking of making one for my car.

Christina Horner has mentioned that the cooling issue was solved by Newey

They modified sidepods this way in one of the last winter tests already, when they also modified the wing mirrors, always raced with this “new” configuration.

The mass flow passing thru the radiator is regulated by the conditions at the outlet (area, pressure), it’s possible that when they enlarged outlets area to increase cooling flow well over the original, wrong, design, part of “dirty” flow downstream the front wheels started to being sucked in the sidepods and as a consequence they modified the sidepod leading edge, adding that protuberance on the outside wall to limit that effect and capture a “cleaner” flow.
Just a guess.