Eight of the 10 Formula 1 teams brought new parts to the Belgian Grand Prix despite the challenge of limiting practice time for sprint weekends.
As the rest of the grid took advantage of the three-week gap between races to bring development to the car, only Haas and Sauber chose to introduce the upgrade at Spa Franco Champ. They will all practice for just an hour on Friday before the Sprint qualifies to gather data and understand the impact of the change.
McLaren has a low downforce rear wing that is said to increase efficiency in many upcoming circuits, but it is a Ferrari, and although low downforce rear wings are also available, it has more focused to bring about a new rear suspension. The team says they have corrected the rear suspension geometry. This has triggered re-optimization of wishbone fairings and cascades in the lower and upper winglets with the aim of maximizing aerodynamic efficiency.”
Red Bull has many new components, with new front wings updated, first and second elements. The team says this will change the pressure distribution across that area of the car, increasing the overall load. The cascade wing assembly under the bodywork on the rear wheel also has more camber, providing more downforce.
Like these items, new side pod inlets have been developed to improve cooling on future trucks, leading to changes related to engine covers, front suspension fairings and rear suspension shrouds.
Red brings a new front victory and a revised sidepod inlet. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Mercedes has two small updates, with fine tuning to the second element of its front wing and amendments to the drum lip, designed to improve tire wake control.
Aston Martin has another upgrade package that focuses on the front end of the car. The team says the new nose and front wing assembly is designed to produce improved performance throughout the vehicle’s operating range, but the front wing flaps have balance range adjustments, as well as lowering force rear wing and beam wing options.
The Alpine, like the Racing Bulls, also has truck-specific variations in its rear wing and beam wings, and there are new diffusers and rear brake duct winglets to improve flow conditioning around the rear of the car.
Williams introduced a new floor with a new floor fence and a modified floor edge. In tandem, these improve the load on the front floor, but improve potential downstream performance and benefit airflow to the diffuser. More related changes have been made to the side pods, improving flow energy to the rear of the car – and engine covering, the latter featuring a deeper undercut in the bodywork, improving the load on the local floor.
