What Spain’s upgrades said about the F1 2021 development race

Co-author: Matt Somerfield

1h

As always, the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend in Barcelona was the main goal of several Formula 1 teams to introduce development upgrades, which gave us more insight into the 2021 development race.

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

Add to the mix the limitations of the homologation and token system, as well as the impact of new regulations and tires, and suddenly it seems better for many to stand still, take stock of the situation and improve on what is already available to them.

There were some interesting new parts on show, however, and an intoxicating mix of teams messing things up to see how their cars react.

Ferrari T-wing

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

In the meantime, 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 included in its tender for a single delivery that the FIA ​​was asked to put in place before its assignment.

The advantage of this material is that it is more durable at similar levels of performance and, as a result, costs less, which is especially interesting when we consider the budget cap.

While it was on the Alfa Romeo theme, it has made steady progress with the C41 and has received an update of its bargeboard cluster for the Portuguese GP.

Alfa Romeo C41 bargeboards detail

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

In the meantime, the elements mounted on the base plate have also been tailored to the new flow properties in this region.

Alfa Romeo C41 bargeboard detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Aston Martin continues

Aston Martin quickly tracked down a number of new parts to make them available for the Portuguese GP.

However, this meant that only Lance Stroll had them available. Enough parts were made for the Spanish GP so that Sebastian Vettel could get a foretaste of it.

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

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On the back of the AMR21 was a new strake arrangement for the diffuser, where the team made some feather-like slits on the bottom edge and at the same time removed a disk from the rear lower quarter of the innermost strake.

Alpine diffuser

Alpine is another team that has focused on making up for the losses associated with rule changes by making changes to the diffuser arrangement, although this is done in several steps.

Alpine A521 diffuser

Notice the dotted line on both pictures. This is the length limit for the strakes and this is where 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 came 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 highlight).

In the meantime, the shape and height of the brakes on the underside of the wing have been adjusted as the team tries to alter the airflow over and around the front tire to reduce the turbulent lag that it creates.

The shape of the flaps has also been changed, with their tips re-profiled to determine the shape, velocity, and trajectory of the Y250 vortex that disengages 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, as the team also installed 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 comparison of the front brake lines

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Red Bull has now used three subtly different front brake duct layouts in three consecutive races to strike a balance between brake cooling and the aerodynamic support the assembly provides in shaping the caster turbulence created by the front tire.

The upper deck within the inlet was divided into three channels in the first two races of the season, while the team further subdivided this in Portugal and divided the central channel by another horizontal spar.

Everything was different 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 picked up by the ducts inside.

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

The new tire construction and tread pattern accommodate a revised set of airflow parameters, with the wake turbulence detached from the tire requiring an adequate 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 some aspects of the bargeboard cluster and sidepod deflector array.

Starting with the bargeboards, the row of fins that make up the leading edge of the footplate has been modified quite heavily, increasing not only the number of fins but also their angle of attack (above).

In the meantime, the outward angled fins have also been adjusted, making the second row not just a pair, but a trio of fins.

The really big and quite remarkable change is in how Red Bull tweaked its deflector array, with each change creating a nudge that required the entire assembly to be reconfigured.

The foremost vertical deflector is now a two-part affair with a slot running almost the full height of the element while now being attached to the front part of the ax head of the floor instead of floating over it and being attached to the outer part of the bargeboard .

As a result, the blinds also have to be overhauled, as with blinds, with those connected to the forward deflector being lengthened as a result.

To make the airflow harder 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.

This has resulted in the previously lowest slat in the Venetian blind panel also being extended to the rear, while another full length slat was added underneath.

The pair of detached floor rollers attached to the edge of the floor behind have also been redesigned as they now meet the angled floor roller to create a throttling point.