McLaren, Red Bull’s big Baku F1 upgrades revealed in Mercedes hunt
F1 teams' upgrades for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have been revealed.
McLaren and Red Bull headline Formula 1’s development push at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Williams and Audi have also brought big upgrades.
In its continued bid to try and close the performance deficit to Mercedes, reigning world champions McLaren has brought a sizeable eight-part upgrade.
McLaren has made significant visible changes to the bodywork of its MCL40, which is effectively a complete overhaul, featuring revisions to the sidepod inlet shape, the engine cover, the diffuser and rear suspension, as well as floor edge and rear wing tweaks.
The Woking-based outfit is also redeploying its H-Wing in Baku.
McLaren currently lies third in the constructors’ championship, 197 points behind Mercedes and just 52 adrift of second-placed Ferrari. Ferrari is among five teams who elected not to bring a single updated component to Baku.
Red Bull has brought five new updates, with only one for reliability reasons.
The upgraded RB22 will also feature modifications to the floor body and diffuser, sidepod, mirrors and Halo.
Williams and Audi go big
While the likes of McLaren and Red Bull have grabbed the headlines, the midfield development battle is hotting up with Williams and Audi bringing huge upgrades to Baku.
Williams will deploy an almost entirely new car, with the FW48 fitted with an updated floor, floor body and floor corner, as well as changes to the front corner, suspension cladding, and the rear brake duct furniture.
The British squad is hoping to make a notable step forward in performance this weekend and move itself towards the upper midfield.
“They’re significant if they work, so let’s see how it goes. We have to be honest with ourselves, we know what it should do on paper,” Alex Albon said on Wednesday.
“I think the weight’s been a big talking point, and normally weight’s a guarantee, so hopefully it’s going to put us in a good place.
“The team have done a massive job back at the factory. To do a chassis change in the middle of a season is not easy, and so it’s putting us in a good place. Whether that’s to fight the midfield now, time will tell.”
Audi has brought the most upgrades of any team, with 14 new parts listed on the FIA’s car submissions document.
The modifications - which include a new front wing, endplate, nose, front and rear suspension, reworked bodywork and floor - effectively make Audi’s 2026 challenger a B-spec R26.
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