The Imola Grand Prix this weekend kicks off the European leg of the F1 season. Traditionally, that also means the teams bring a bunch of upgrades and that’s no different this time. In fact, every team except for Racing Bulls is bringing some type of upgrade to their car. Let’s take a look at all the different parts the teams are changing or adding.
McLaren
The Papaya Outfit is keeping things a little modest this time. They already had a significant upgrade package in Miami, and with great success: Lando Norris won the race, making it the second time a driver other than Max Verstappen won this year. The most significant thing McLaren is doing this time around, is put all the same upgrades that Norris received in Miami also on the car of Piastri for the race in Imola. McLaren is also bringing a new rear wing for this race specifically, aimed at increasing the downforce.
Mercedes
Just like McLaren, Mercedes is also bringing a higher downforce wing to this race. The team has also improved the front brake ducts and made some aerodynamic adjustments to the floor. The main goal of these floor adjustments is to provide higher load at the rear, which supposedly increases the performance of the rear tyres.
Despite Mercedes claiming for a while now that they’re getting a big upgrade coming, this is yet again only a small upgrade for the German team. Miami also saw them make some small adjustments. It remains to be seen if and when the team gets a sizeable upgrade good enough to make that crucial step forward, just like they did last year.
Haas
The upgrades at Haas are aimed at improving the airflow around the tyres. Changes were made to the front wing, the rear suspension and the rear corner devices. All this is meant to lessen the burden on the front tyres and thereby increase their lifespan. Haas has traditionally struggled to keep their tyres alive in the race but they have shown some good progress in that field this year. This upgrade will further improve that.
Red Bull
Fresh off their defeat in Miami at the hands of an upgraded McLaren, Red Bull is now seeking to return the favor. The first upgrade is aimed at improving the cooling of the rear brakes, something that ended Verstappen’s race in Australia. Changes to the nose and the front wing are aimed at improving the load at the front of the car, thereby increasing tyre performance. To balance these changes out at the front, the team also made some changes to the floor edge to improve the local load in the middle of the car, while also improving the airflow to the rear of the car. All of this combined is supposed to increase the tyre performance and grip, and thereby the general speed of the car.
Aston Martin
A graphic highlighting all the areas where changes were made to the Aston Martin for this weekend. (Source: FIA)
The biggest upgrades are coming from Aston Martin and Ferrari. Aston Martin is doing a large overhaul of the different parts of the car to increase local load and thereby increase their speed. The front wing is using a brand new concept for the car to increase local load at the front. Big changes to all areas of the floor are aimed at increasing the general performance from that area. The rear suspension, rear corner devices and the diffusor have all been altered to improve the local load at the rear, but also to increase the airflow around the rear wheels. Lastly there is a change to the engine cover, which - again - aims at improving the local load there but also seeks to improve the engine cooling. Mercedes engines (which Aston Martin uses) have been struggling with overheating this year.
Ferrari
Ferrari has also brought a large amount of upgrades to Imola. The front and rear wing have been adjusted to improve the airflow over the entire car. A brand new sidepod has also been introduced, which apparently takes inspiration from Mercedes and Alpine of all teams. This sidepod design should have a better airflow downstream around the halo and the floor edge. Aerodynamic changes have also been made to the floor itself and to the engine cover, all of which should create a brand new and more efficient airflow around the car. In conjunction with this, there have also been some slight alterations to the rear suspension and the diffuser to not only improve the airflow at the rear, but also produce slightly more load at the rear tyres.
Alpine, Williams and Sauber
The final three teams are only bringing minor upgrades as well. Williams has changed their floor around a bit. There’s no difference in shape or aerodynamics for their floor, but it will reduce the weight of the car.
Alpine also made some changes to their floor, but for them the aerodynamics actually do get altered. The sides of the floor are changed to affect how the air flows around the rear tyres, which should give them a minor increase in aerodynamic flow and therefore speed.
Sauber also made changes to the floor, though their changes are at the front of the car. The so-called “floor fences” are extended a bit further forward, which should increase the amount of downforce the car generates.