What Spain’s upgrades told us about the F1 2021 development race

The Spanish Grand Prix is ​​usually the first F1 race where teams introduce major upgrades. But with the calendar postponed for 2021 and a major change in regulations looming in 2022, the teams seem to have new priorities and a new approach this season.

Add to this the restrictions imposed by the homologation and token system and the effects of new regulations and tires, and suddenly it seems better for many to stop, take stock and catch up on what is already there.

There were some interesting new parts to be seen, however, and a heady mix of teams messing everything up to see how their cars react.

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Ferrari T-wing

As seen above, for the Spanish GP, Ferrari added a double element T-wing to improve the car’s balance without dramatically enlarging the rear wing.

It is now known that both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo have tested a new brake disc material in free practice.

The innovative material provided by Brembo takes advantage of the work from the tender for a single shipment that the FIA ​​was supposed to put in place before it was abandoned.

The advantage of this material is that it is more durable with similar performance and therefore costs less, which is particularly interesting when you consider the budget ceiling.

On the Alfa Romeo theme, it’s making steady progress with the C41 and has updated its bargeboard cluster for the Portuguese GP.

Alfa Romeo C41 bargeboards detail

As we can see from the top view, the new arrangement has a much larger top boomerang winglet, with the surface elongated forward to reflect the length of the footplate below.

The elements mounted on top of the base plate were also adapted to the new flow characteristics in this region.

Alfa Romeo C41 bargeboard detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Aston Martin keeps pushing

Aston Martin has quickly launched a number of new parts so it can be available for the Portuguese GP.

But that meant that only Lance Stroll had them. Enough parts had been made for the Spanish GP so that Sebastian Vettel could get a foretaste of it.

While many of the updates were covered in detail, one missed our reach …

At the rear of the AMR21 was a new strake arrangement for the diffuser, with the team choosing to add some feather-like slots to the bottom edge while also taking out a disc from the rear lower quarter of the innermost strake.

Alpine diffuser

Alpine is another team that has focused its efforts on offsetting the losses associated with rule changes by making changes to the diffuser layout, albeit in phases.

Alpine A521 diffuser

Notice the dashed line on both pictures. This is the length limit for the strakes and at this point Alpine has decided that full length strakes may not give the best results.

In Portugal, the team reduced the height of the two outermost strakes and then cut a diagonal section out of the inner strakes.

AlphaTauri – new front wing

AlphaTauri AT02 front wing comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

AlphaTauri has come to the Spanish GP with a new front wing that will undoubtedly change the behavior of the inner and outer flow structures.

The shape of the footplate has been changed, discarding the more traditional arch shape and preferring a flatter, more square design (red marking).

In the meantime, the shape and height of the strakes attached to the underside of the wing have been adjusted as the team tries to change the way air flows over and around the front tire to influence the turbulent wake it creates .

The shape of the flaps has also been changed, with their tips re-profiled to control the shape, speed, and trajectory of the Y250 vortex, detached from the surface differential of the main plane and the neutral section below.

These changes are likely part of a desire to tune the car to a more specific, higher downforce setup, with the team also installing a monkey seat winglet and dual element T-wing to balance the car.

Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Red Bull brakes

Red Bull RB16B front brake duct comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Red Bull has now used three subtly different arrangements of the front brake ducts in three consecutive races to find a balance between brake cooling and the aerodynamic support the assembly provides in shaping the wake vortex created by the front tire.

The upper deck within the bay was divided into three channels for the first two races of the season, while the team in Portugal further subdivided it and divided the middle channel with another horizontal spar.

Everything changed again for the Spanish GP as the two outer spars were retained but the inner spar was removed and replaced with a horizontal spar, changing how and where the airflow would be received through the channels inside.

Red Bull had a selection of new parts only a week ago in Portugal as it focused on refining the center section of its car and optimizing the airflow characteristics to match the new tires Pirelli launched for 2021.

The new tire design and tread accommodate a revised set of airflow parameters, with the wake vortices emitted by the tire needing a proportional response to achieve the same, if not more, performance than before.

Red Bull Racing RB16B new bargeboard detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The update was quite extensive, changing several aspects of the bargeboard cluster and sidepod deflector array.

Starting with the bargeboards, the row of fins that form the front edge of the footplate has been modified quite extensively, whereby not only the number of fins but also the angle of attack (above) has been increased.

In the meantime, the outwardly angled fins have also been adapted, whereby the second row is not just a pair, but a trio of fins.

The really big and rather noticeable change is in how Red Bull tweaked its deflector arrangement, with each change leading to a sequential effect that required the entire assembly to be reconfigured.

The foremost vertical deflector is now in two parts, with a slot extending almost the full height of the element, while now connecting to the front portion of the ground ax head instead of floating over it and being attached to the outer portion of the bargeboard.

This meant that the louvre-like slats also had to be overhauled, lengthening those connected to the front deflector.

To improve airflow further downstream, changes were also made to the rear vertical deflector as it is now attached to it where it previously hung above the ground.

As a result, the previously lowest slat of the blind panel was also extended to the rear, while another continuous slat was added underneath.

The pair of free-standing floor spirals attached to the floor edge behind it has also been revised, which now meet with the angled floor strut to form a throttle point.