We talked about Ferrari’s improved aerodynamic body kit, but Scuderia isn’t the only team to showcase certain new items in Austria.
First of all, the McLaren MCL60 deserves attention – according to Andrea Stella, team leader, this is an almost completely new car. In addition, Spielberg only shows the first part of a large-scale update program, which McLaren wants to implement in three phases.
McLaren
On the Red Bull Ring, the cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a new form of side pontoons, some parts of which resemble those already used by other teams, notably quite deep channels running along the pontoons, starting at the top and descending towards rear wheels.
Experts have already called such channels “water slides”, since the configuration of this chute is somewhat reminiscent of the attractions that children love, which we are used to seeing in water parks and beaches. True, in this case, of course, the “slides” serve to direct the air currents in the right direction.
The configuration of the front of the pontoons, where the radiator air duct inlets are located, has also been changed.
The fairings installed on the Halo system have been given a new look and the geometry of the rear-view mirrors has also been revised.
The underside, the edges and the diffuser became different – as the team explained, these changes were dictated by the updated shape of the body panels, and everything in the complex makes it possible to achieve more downforce.
By body parts in this case we mean not only the side pontoons already mentioned, but also the engine housing and the rear part, which the racing car designers call the “Coca-Cola bottle” because of their characteristic shape.
Red Bull races
The RB19 has slightly changed the shape of the fairings mounted on the rear suspension elements – the team noted that this was done to improve the stability of the airflow around the rear of the car.
Haas F1
The nose cone of the VF-23 has a new speed sensor – a so-called “pitot tube”. The team expects the new sensor to provide more accurate readings.
AlphaTauri
The area where the rear wing meets the side pontoons has been reconfigured to improve the overall efficiency of this aerodynamic element.
The AT03 also has a new optional rear wing to generate more downforce.
Willems
The front of the bottom edges have been reshaped and the outer partitions are oriented slightly differently on them.
The air ducts of the front brakes have been updated, their front part and lower part have become different.
Mercedes, Alpine, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin reported no technical innovations.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
