Latest F1 technical developments from pitlane

Red Bull has added an external metal stay to help reduce flexion in the RB18’s floor for the Azerbaijan GP.

Red Bull Racing RB18 floor

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

To compare, here’s a shot of the RB18 without the metal stay in place.

Ferrari F1-75 mirror

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari has a new wing mirror support for Baku, with a vertical inner section that takes the form of a vortex generator as the horizontal section diverges from it (old specification, inset).

Alpine A522 rear wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Alpine has an extremely low downforce and thus low drag rear wing available for Baku

Alpine A522 side detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The team has also made quite a significant change to the sidepods too, as the A522’s inlet has been brought forward and now features a more boxier shape that creates a much deeper undercut as a consequence.

Mercedes W13 SIS fairing stay

Mercedes appears to have patched in a vertical stay on the outboard portion of the upper SIS fairing but it’s unclear at this stage how it would align with the pre-existing sidepod bodywork, suggesting there may be a change here too.

Mercedes W13 front wing detail

Mercedes is still carrying a variant of its old-specification front wing endplate design, suggesting it might still feature.

Mercedes W13 rear wing

It also appears to be running the same specification of low downforce rear wing that was installed on the W13 at the Miami GP.

Red Bull Racing RB18 engine

A look under the covers of the Red Bull RB18 reveals the layout of the airbox pipework and the mounting of a cooler in the saddle position above it.

Aston Martin AMR 22 rear wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The Aston Martin AMR22 fitted with the low downforce, spoon-shaped rear wing that we’ve already seen the team use this season.

Red Bull Racing RB18 front wing endplate

A close up of the front wing endplate and S-shaped diveplane on the Red Bull RB18.

Red Bull Racing RB18 floor

A look at the contouring on the upper forward section of the floor, the paired outer strakes and the protruding bottom lip of the sidepod inlet on the RB18.

Red Bull Racing RB18 floor

A close up of the RB18’s floor showing the detail on its edge and the large blister that’s been formed inboard of that.

Red Bull Racing RB18 cockpit

A close up of the RB18’s mirror housing, which is made up of multiple surfaces in order to lessen the impact it would otherwise have on the airflow passing by.

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear wing

Red Bull will likely trial several specifications of rear wings during the course of practice, just as it has for a number of years now. Here’s what it dressed the car in as it was pushed down to scrutineering.

Red Bull Racing RB18 airbox

The arched cooling louvre panel on the RB18 has only the rear section open at present, with the team able to reduce the length of the blanking panel if they desire more cooling.

Red Bull Racing RB18 nose

A look down into the RB18’s nosecone as the team practices pitstop procedures. You’ll note the large cutouts in the lower half which enable the nose to fit around the steering arms that sit ahead of the chassis bulkhead.

Red Bull Racing RB18 nose

The Red Bull mechanics push an RB18 down the pitlane with a dummy nosecone in place in order that the front wing doesn’t get damaged.

Ferrari F1-75 rear wing

Ferrari has one of its spoon-shaped rear wings installed on the F1-75 and will also be keen to find the right performance offset for the high and low speed sections that the Baku street circuit provides.

Ferrari F1-75 front brake

As the car is prepared we’re afforded a nice view of the brake assembly while the brake drum isn’t attached. Note the various piping that feeds cool air to and from the brake components.

McLaren MCL36 front brake

Similarly we can see how McLaren’s front brake arrangement compares to the Ferrari, as it has opted to cover the brake disc in its own fairing.

McLaren MCL36 front brake

A shot from the other side of the brake assembly gives us an indication as to how large the inlet scoop is. Meanwhile, we can see the leaf spring-like bib stay hung beneath the MCL36’s chassis.