Downforce is still an important factor, but these days you can't go very far if there's too much air resistance. If you can deliver a car that is very strong in a straight line, the rewards are huge.
Much of Max Verstappen's success has been built on him either not being able to overtake at the front or being able to easily break through the pack due to his inherent top speed advantage.
But achieving the right downforce/drag levels on a track isn't as easy as it used to be. backward The wing design meant the flaps were adjustable, allowing you to trim things up or down depending on what worked best.
In today's generation, backward wingsthe flap angle is fixed depending on how the rules are set. So the game changes and if a team wants to provide less drag or more downforce, that means something completely different. backward wing.
During the first two years of the current rules era, many teams probably didn't pay much attention to this area. But now everything has changed, as we now have a sliver of reality about this important element of performance.
As McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained, the only way the team can currently adjust drag levels is with the new family. wings.
“When you get a relatively mature car, such as a launch car, the drag level is pretty much set in stone. backward Wings,” he said. “Just because the bodywork, floor and front wing are all there doesn't mean we have to redesign the new family.” backward wings [to compensate].
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo credit: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“You design a new family backward Because we found it more efficient to introduce new family members. backward wings.So it's not backward The wing should follow the whole car in terms of drag levels. You will be traveling almost independently. ”
But this doesn't mean teams can pursue ultra-low drag wings and expect it to work automatically.
Today's cars are able to minimize aero components because they focus on how each aero component works with other aero components. backward Wings can only be achieved if there is some confidence in the performance of the rest.
Stella added: backward The wings depend on the shape of the car body, the shape of the floor, and backward brake.
“So we have to do all this combination to create the car as a single element in harmony with the other elements. But that doesn't mean we have to change the concept. backward The wings move to change the drag level. The drag level is set large. backward wing. “
Evidence of how much teams are tinkering with drag levels was on display last weekend in Saudi Arabia, when they put a lot of effort into finding the right approach to the season's first low-downforce track.
Mercedes W15 rear wing comparison, Saudi Arabia GP
Photo credit: Giorgio Piola
The Mercedes ran in two specifications: backward We moved the wing around midway through the race weekend, trying to find the right performance balance for both qualifying and racing.
Both drivers ran low downforce arrangements in FP1 and FP2 on Thursday, but Hamilton switched to the high downforce arrangement he used in Bahrain for FP3, perhaps looking for some answers and a bit more balance.
However, the top speed afforded by the low downforce configuration was needed, and both drivers ended up using it for qualifying and racing.
Regarding that point, of wings By design, the two solutions have similar overall DNA, with a spoon-shaped mainplane with reduced chord in the center section and less tapering of the outer sections towards the endplates.
The leading edge of the tip section appears to be pulled down onto the end plate more than before, covering all of their surfaces over the metal attachment points that straddle the rolled main plane and end plate junction. Masu. backward Cutout – Affects the vortices that form.
Notably, the upper flap also features a semicircular notch in the center section that is trimmed from the trailing edge to better manage airflow across that part of the wing.
Interestingly, Mercedes seems to be combining lower downforce backward It used the same beam wing arrangement that used a high downforce wing in Bahrain, in contrast to what many of its rivals did in Saudi Arabia.
Ferrari SF-24 rear wing details, Saudi Arabia GP
Photo credit: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari announced in its car presentation materials ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that it has a new low-downforce system. backward Wings that can be used freely. However, as they did the same last season, the Scuderia never actually installed that assembly on their vehicles, instead preferring the same design used in Bahrain.
However, it had other tricks up its sleeve to reduce drag and improve straight-line performance and high-speed corner performance. It carried only a single beam wing element, rather than the biplane arrangement seen on Bahrain's SF-24.
McLaren MCL38 rear wing details
Photo credit: Giorgio Piola
McLaren's low downforce backward The upper wing flaps include two distinct design features, joining a growing contingent of teams to reposition centerline notches on the trailing edges of the flaps.
But McLaren goes a step further, with the flap also recessed around the notch to create a different flow environment down to the semi-circular cut-out.
Like Ferrari, McLaren also opted for only a single-element beam wing arrangement for the Saudi Arabian MCL38.
Aston Martin AMR24 rear wing details
Photo credit: Giorgio Piola
Aston Martin was also a team that tried something new. backward A Saudi Arabian wing focused on downforce and drag reduction.
And, similar to what we have already encountered elsewhere, the trailing edge of the AMR24's top flap had a centerline notch.
Some changes have also been made to the outer section of the wing, with the trailing edge tapering to a shallow dog-eared tip section to reduce downforce and influence the vortices generated in this area. I was there.
Aston Martin AMR23 and AMR24 Diffuser Wing Details
Photo credit: Giorgio Piola
Elsewhere on the Aston Martin car, Saudi provided a glimpse of additional aerodynamic tweaks the team tried in 2023 but were unable to get it to work properly.
At last season's Dutch Grand Prix, they introduced winglets with a bow-tie-like crash structure, and although they designed new jacks to accommodate them, they struggled to prevent them from breaking during pit stops.
For 2024, the team has completely revised its layout, with the AMR24 now equipped with two winglets. One is attached to the side of the crash structure, and the other is installed to the back of the crash structure with flatter winglets than those used last season.
