Which F1 team has brought the biggest upgrade to the Bahrain GP?

These are the upgrades every team will bring to the F1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Lewis Larkam

29 Feb 2024

Mercedes AMG F1 W15 of George Russell (GBR) pushed down the pit lane by mechanics. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 1, — Mercedes AMG F1 W15 of George Russell (GBR) pushed down the pit lane by…

Red Bull

Front Wing - Re-optimised wing elements to better attain the pressure gradients and more stable load.

Nose - Better fairing to the front wing elements and a better pressure control along the length.

Sidepod inlet - A better inlet shape for the pressure field available to supply the primary heat exchangers

Floor Edge - More aggressive geometry in the FEW to attain locally greater pressure differences

Cooling Louvres - Attaining adequate ranges of exit areas to operate in the coolest and warmest ambinent conditions expected.

Coke/Engine Cover - Profiled to improve pressure upstream of the rear wing.

Front Wing Endplate - Less loss from the endplate roll-over for more load.

Mercedes

Front Wing - Detached forward element from nose and reduced forth element chord inboard.

Singular Inlet - Triangular inlet.

Floor Body - Change in the fence camber and floor tunnel profile.

Coke/Engine Cover - Softened engine cover shoulder.

Beam Wing - Improved section profiling.

Rear Wing - Increased flap tip cut-out and reprofiling.

Ferrari

Sidepod Inlet - The sidepod inlet has been reworked and raised, working in conjunction with the redesigned sidepod and coke undercut

Coke/Engine Cover - The engine cover has been inflated, with a different cooling exit topology and a more prominent central exit. High and wide sidepod shoulder is a visible difference compared to the 2023 car

Rear Corner - Rear suspension and rear corner have been adapted to suit the bodywork development, offering better inboard and outboard integration, as well as a re- optimized rear corner winglet system

McLaren

Sidepod Inlet - Modified Sidepod Inlet

Coke/Engine Cover - New Bodywork Shape

Floor Edge - Floor Edge Modification

Rear Wing - New Rear Wing Assembly

Aston Martin

Front Wing - Front wing mounted to the nose on the second element.

Nose - Shorter nose compared to AMR23, to suit FW mounting change described above.

Floor Body - The leading edge of the floor is higher and other subtle change in the shape of the main floor.

Floor Edge - The floor edge wing has a shorter chord.

Sidepod Inlet - The sidepod inlet is raised.

Coke/Engine Cover - Undercut depth has increased, and the exit of the bodywork has a revised profile.

Rear Suspension - Suspension member fairings to shroud the revised structural layout.

Rear Corner - Rear brake duct modified to suit the revised rear suspension layout from our supplier.

Beam Wing - Inboard both elements now mount to the crash structure.

Alpine

Front Wing - It is a completely revised front wing for 2024.

Floor Edge - The floor edges contain revised edge details.

Front Wing - This is a new part since the pre-season test. A front wing gurney has been produced and made available on the trailing edge of the front wing flap.

Williams

Front Wing - The whole front wing geometry is new for 2024. Chord lengths, aerofoil profiles and connection to nosebox are all updated.

Nose - The nosebox has a new profile and the detail around the connection to the front wing is new for FW46.

Front Suspension - The layout of the front suspension is updated. Most notably, the trackrod position is changed and the front top wishbone is now split into two separate legs.

Floor Body - The entire floor geometry is updated for 2024. The details are primarily on the underside of the floor but the upper surface and floor edge (See below) are also updated to make the most of the high energy flow.

Floor Fences - The floor fences have been updated in position and curvature for FW46.

Floor Edge - The floor edge has been substantilly updated for 2024. More elaborate and aggressive geometry is present for 2024. This captures the learning from FW45 and makes the most of the improved flow quality around the front of the car and the floor.

Sidepod Inlet - The sidepod inlet is new for 2024 and features an extended lip.

Diffuser - The diffuser geometry is modified for 2024 to maximise the load from the onset flow.

Coke/Engine Cover - The coke and engine cover geometry is new for 2024 and features and aggressive slide from the front of the cooling inlet to the rear corner. A variety of louvres panels and centreline exits provide opportunity to adjust the flow through the cooling system.

Beam Wing - The beam wing is part of the overall rear wing assembly. For 2024 there are two elements to the beam wing, which helps adjust the drag and downforce for each circuit. The forward element in particular will be adjusted as required.

Rear Wing - The rear wing assembly is new for FW46 and features the familiar disconnect between the flap element and the endplate. The whole geometry is new with updated profiles, chord and span.

Rear Suspension - The FW46 features rear suspension geometry used by MGP in 2023. The outboard geometry is very similar to the FW45 but offers a small update to the leg positions and interface with the upright.

Rear Corner - The rear corner geoemtry is updated for 2024 with revised winglets and updated brake cooling flow.

RB

Nose - The AT05 nose / front wing junctions have been modified. The geometry of the nose has also been extensively modified

Front Wing - The inboard sections of the FW have been modified in sympathy with the revised nose geometry. The first element of the mainplane has been extensively revised with elements two, three and four remaining closely similar to AT04.

Front Suspension - The front suspension has been extensively redesigned and a pull-rod element now controls front wheel movement compared to a push-rod on AT04. The trackrod remains in a low position ahead of the front lower wishbone, similar to AT04.

Front Corner - The front brake duct assembly has been redesigned to accommodate the new pull-rod suspension. The scoop geometry itself is closely similar to AT04 but with greater separation now to the front top wishbone and pull-rod elements.

Floor Body - The floor has been redesigned with updates to the fences as well as floor roof surfaces.

Floor Edge - The floor edge features a similar floor edge wing to AT04 but modified to suit latest developments on the main floor itself.

Diffuser - The diffuser has modifications based on upstream flow changes

Sidepod Inlet - The sidepod inlet has been raised and the upper leading edge regressed.

Coke/Engine Cover - The coke line has been pulled inboard compared to AT04. The upper sidepod has also increased in height with the upper engine cover surfaces dropping towards the rear floor.

Cooling Louvres - Bodywork cooling louvres are very similar to AT04.

Rear Wing - Rear wing profiles have been redesigned to improve Cp profiles

Sauber

Front Suspension - The change to pull-rod was mostly dictated by aerodynamic, not mechanical reasons. It allows to maximise the efficiency of the aero package throughout the whole car.

Coke/Engine Cover - Influenced by the changes at the front of the car (see above), we took an aggressive approach to redesigning the engine cover, the sidepod and the coke area to maximise downforce and aero efficiency.

Floor Body - As part of our redesign for 2024, we took a novel approach to the floor with some solutions, mostly in the main body part, aimed at generating increased downforce.