Technical innovations presented in Las Vegas

As the season finale approaches, the battle for positions in the Constructors’ Championship intensifies and the stakes rise, so teams continue to modernize their equipment and introduce certain new products. Naturally, what they presented in Las Vegas was developed primarily taking into account the characteristics of this urban circuit with its long straights, where speeds of up to 350 km/h can be reached.

Red Bull racing

Red Bull Racing reported two new products: first, the RB20 received an improved front wing, designed for a lower level of downforce. As is clear from the team’s explanation, the wing has been designed for the specificities of this track and designed to work in balance with the rear wing, which in Las Vegas can be adjusted to angles of attack of “certain magnitudes”.

Secondly, on the cars of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the underbody has been improved again, in this case we are talking about the front part of the partitions between the Venturi tunnels, which has been done to improve the airflow properties.

Mercedes

The Mercedes team brought the only new thing to Las Vegas: a modernized front wing, on which the geometry of the trailing edge of the adjustable plane has been adjusted.

This is done to reduce the level of aerodynamic loading caused by the front wing, which is designed to work in balance with the rear wing, which has less drag.

Ferrari

The Italian team’s cars now have front wings designed for a lower level of downforce, and the other three changes concern the underbody. On the SF-24, the geometry of the dividing walls of the Venturi tunnels, the edges of the bottom and the base have been adjusted.

Moreover, Ferrari emphasizes that this is not directly related to the characteristics of the Las Vegas circuit, but was done to improve the airflow properties and reduce losses in efficiency.

McLaren

In keeping with the characteristics of the Las Vegas circuit, the MCL38’s front wing has been upgraded with a new adjustable element. The team explained that this was done to expand the range of aerodynamic balance adjustments.

Aston Martin F1

The Silverstone team’s cars have also had their front wing redesigned, with a new adjustable element, which was done to reduce the aerodynamic load compared to the previous version.

Alpine F1

On the Alpine A524, the geometry of the “front drum surfaces has been modified, resulting in improved local flow properties that work better with the front suspension elements.”

Visa RB

The team announced four changes to the vehicle’s configuration, starting with VCARB01 modifying the geometry of the engine case and that part of the body called the coke bottle, i.e. “Coke Bottle.”

The thing is that the surface of the lower part of the motor housing is now slightly lower, which is done to improve the properties of the flow to the rear of the machine.

In accordance with this, the position of the rear wishbones was also adjusted and the geometry of small elements of the aerodynamic body kit located in this area was changed.

In addition, the team reported that the characteristics of the Las Vegas circuit required the installation of rear-view mirrors in housings of a special configuration, such as those used in Monza.

Sauber

The underside of the Swiss team’s cars has been modernized – changes have affected the base, the partitions of the Venturi tunnels and their edges. All this is done to improve airflow properties. In accordance with the new bottom, the diffuser also had to be replaced – the changes affected the upper part and the side walls.

Haas F1

The VF-24 also features a redesigned underbody, with the US team saying the changes are “aimed at improving the flow characteristics of the underbody when the vehicle is set to a low ride height.”

Only the Williams team did not bring any new products to Las Vegas.