TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - 2017 DEVELOPMENTS

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F1 2017
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24 Jan 2017. Shark fins set for 2017 return?

The change that could prompt their return is the move to lower and wider rear wings. Last year the wing was 950mm high and 750mm wide. This season the respective figures are 800mm and 950mm. It means that on most cars the rear wing will suffer more from the turbulence generated by air coming off the front axle and suspension.

The shark fin solution, or ‘airbox sail’ as it is sometimes described, dates back to 2008 when Red Bull introduced it on their RB4 machine (pictured above). It helps to divert turbulent air away from the rear wing, especially while cornering.

Ironically, Red Bull are one team who may be less likely to go down this route for 2017. Running a high rake angle on your car - as the former champions are renowned for doing - actually lessens the effect of the turbulence coming from the front, as more of that airflow simply passes under the rear wing.

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10 Mar 2017. The secrets to the Ferrari SF70H's speed

From the front of the car (above), we can see how much higher the sidepod openings are compared to those on last year’s SF16-H, allowing airflow to enter with minimal disruption from the front suspension elements - a problem which other teams, notably Mercedes and Toro Rosso, have dealt with via the very different approach of raising their suspension. Also clear from the picture is just how aggressive Ferrari have been with the undercut of the sidepod.

In fact the whole philosophy of Ferrari’s sidepod design has been the subject of much discussion. The 2017 regulations require the leading edge of the sidepod to be angled at 75 degrees to the car’s centreline, in order to provide a more pleasing, arrow-like aesthetic - complementing the similarly backswept front wing. Designers, however, would prefer a 90-degree angle for optimum efficiency.

Onlookers have questioned whether Ferrari have found a loophole here. As can be seen in the image above, they have moved the leading edge of the sidepod back, retaining a 90-degree angle, but ahead of it is a complex bodywork assembly. That hoop-like assembly is attached to, and thus still part of, the sidepod, and has the required 75-degree angle. It not only features a number of complex elements designed to optimise airflow to the sidepod inlet, it also means the main body of the sidepod can be smaller.

Arguably the most interesting - and clever - solution on the SF70H, however, is the cooling system for the gearbox and its hydraulics. It appears this is no longer within the bodywork as normal, but channelled through the floor of the car. The pipes remain within the bound 140cm area required by the regulations for safety reasons, but since they are no longer wrapped around the engine they should stay a lot cooler, hence making the system more efficient. The inset on the picture above shows a number of thermal stickers which were spotted along the channel during testing, presumably being used by the team to monitor temperatures.

20 Mar 2017

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This was highlighted by the sheer number of changes seen on the Silver Arrows’ W08 car over the course of the two pre-season tests. The team introduced a new aero package at the second test, including the rear diffuser shown below. As can be seen from the drawings, the outer section is completely different to the original design, highlighted by the red arrows.

20 Mar 2017

Accompanying this new aero package was a revised front wing. In the comparison drawings below we can see its new vertical fin in the upper flap (1). Also new were the modified brake ducts, with a revised shape to the large ‘paddle’ fin (2), and a new air inlet (3) for brake cooling similar to the final version introduced by the team last year. Unchanged was the S-duct with its ‘shark’s gill’ inlet under the nose, a feature already seen on Mercedes’ 2016 car.

20 Mar 2017

At the second test Mercedes introduced a lot of toothed sections and aerodynamic devices in their barge board layout, an area of the car that had been much simpler at launch, more akin to their 2016 machine. They added teeth (1) under the vertical turning vanes, as well as on top of the barge boards (2) to create vortices and help energise the airflow to the sidepods. Also new were the teeth (3) ahead of where the bargeboard connects with the stepped floor, and a small winglet (4) attached to the laser measure system under the chassis.

21 Mar 2017

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That is exactly what has happened this year with the front suspension designs on the Toro Rosso STR13 and Mercedes' W08.

In order to raise the height of the suspension, rather than the outer pickup point of the top wishbone being attached directly to the upright as normal, both teams have added an extension (red arrows) to the upright.

This will, of course, affect how the suspension works, but the main aim of the increased height is to improve airflow passing from the front of the car to the sidepods immediately behind the suspension.

This is of greater importance in 2017, because of (a) the increased size of the tyres, and (b) the return of complex aerodynamic devices and bargeboards, previously prohibited, in the area in front of the sidepods.

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28 Mar 2017. Haas VF-17 - shark fin modifications

Haas were forced to remove their T-wing after first practice because it was causing excessive vibration and movement in the shark fin attached to the car’s engine cover. Keen to reinstate it in time for qualifying and the race, the team added carbon-fibre reinforcements (red arrow) to the fin in order to make the whole assembly stiffer.

Renault R.S.17 - rear wing pick-up point change

In pre-season testing Renault had the pick-up point of their rear wing pillar attached directly to the top of the DRS actuator (inset, red arrow). At first this looked like a very trick solution, but then fears surfaced that it could provide an illegal advantage in terms of the wing’s performance. This prompted a modification, retained for Australia, with the pillar instead attached lower down to the actuator mounting, rather than to the actuator itself.

Red Bull RB13 - S-duct design

For 2017, Red Bull have kept the same design philosophy as last year for their S-duct, which channels airflow from under the nose through to the top of the chassis. There are two openings in the lower section of the chassis (one shown here, bottom arrow) that go to cool the boxes housing electronics near the front of the sidepods. Meanwhile, the main ramp for the S-duct (unseen) streams airflow out of the openings at the very top of the chassis, as indicated by the multiple blue arrows).

Ferrari SF70H - rear-view mirror mountings

For Australia, Ferrari modified their mirror pillars, with a new rounded mounting (inset, red arrow). Instead of a vertical fin behind the mirror, they introduced a horizontal, triangular fin in the lower section. The aim of the changes is to improve the efficiency of the airflow in this critical part of the chassis. Expect to see a lot of similar refinements in this area on other cars this season.

Williams FW40 - new front wing

For Melbourne, Williams introduced this new front wing. It features two small, triangular fins (red arrows) attached to the endplate, in a quite unusual position compared to the team’s previous design.
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09 Apr 2017. Ferrari’s X-shaped S-duct

The Italian squad are relatively late debuting their S-duct this season, but don’t forget that it was Ferrari who in 2008 introduced this aerodynamic device, which last year was used by many teams including Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Force India and Toro Rosso.

This year Ferrari have taken a very different route with their S-duct design. While the other teams’ have a vertical ramp, with airflow divided in two parallel channels, Ferrari’s has the channels crossing over inside the nose. The aim is to give a better shape to the ramp and to improve the efficiency of the airflow coming through from under the nose up to the top of the chassis.

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10 Apr 2017. McLaren's China T-wing

In China McLaren introduced their take on 2017's most talked about aero appendage, the T-wing. Attached to the rear of the engine cover’s shark fin, the Woking team's solution is not dissimilar to Mercedes’ in that it features two horizontal profiles connected at each end by a U-section. Its more distinctive shape, however, drew some interesting comparisons from F1 pundits, among them the ‘coat hanger’ and the ‘TV aerial’.

Also visible on the car was a very sophisticated and intricate solution for the rear-wind endplates. The shape respects, of course, the new 2017 regulations on width, but the series of vertical strakes (see red arrow) are unique to McLaren’s car - and mirror a similar approach used on the team's front wing supports (see below).

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20 Apr 2017. F1's cutting-edge floor designs

The new-for-2017 technical regulations mean that the floor section on Formula One cars can be wider this season – up from a maximum of 140cm to 160cm. Inevitably, that also means new trends in floor design…

Early in the year we saw Red Bull running a large cut in the front section of the RB12’s floor and five teams have gone on to add longitudinal cuts, among them Toro Rosso, Haas and Mercedes…

Latest to join the group were McLaren in China. As with their rivals’ machines, the cuts in the MCL32’s floor help channel air under the chassis, so as to energise and improve the airflow in the lower section of the car. The solution - introduced thanks to the new rules - works almost like a pneumatic miniskirt, improving the efficiency of the floor, especially at the rear.

In Bahrain, Force India introduced a completely new barge-board solution on their VJM10 and with it came updates to the floor in that central section of the car, featuring cuts to help create vortices and improve the airflow’s efficiency in this area.

Finally, it was interesting to note that ahead of Bahrain Ferrari had reinforced one of the cut’s in the SF70H’s floor, with a small section of metal added in order to reduce deflection under load.

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26 Apr 2017. Ferrari’s clever crash structure solution

Since 2014 the FIA has enforced very strict rules on the specification of these deformable structures, and on their positioning relative to the car’s survival cell.

What Ferrari have done differently this year is rather than house the structures within the sidepods in the normal fashion, they have placed them inside their unusual aerodynamic fairings immediately in front of the sidepods. This allows the main body of the sidepods to be much shorter, moving them further back from the car’s front axle, meaning less disturbance from the disrupted airflow generated by the front tyres. The drawing above shows how the fairing is attached over the crash structure.

This not only has significant aerodynamic advantages, it means Ferrari have managed to increase the distance between sidepod and axle without having to take the Mercedes route of lengthening the car’s wheelbase to achieve it. The drawing above shows the greater distance relative to the Scuderia's 2016 car (with the crash structure position shown by the dotted lines).

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03 May 2017. Slotted T-wings, upgraded barge boards & more

McLaren MCL32 - rear wing strakes

For Sochi McLaren retained this rear wing endplate solution introduced in Bahrain. As you can see from the arrows, it is now incredibly complex, with the intricate layout of vertical strakes designed to improve the airflow in this area of the car and reduce the drag from the rear tyres.

Force India VJM0 - barge board slots

For Russia Force India modified the VJM10’s barge boards with a series of vertical slots (nine instead of the four seen previously). This year’s cars are a lot more sophisticated in this area than their predecessors, thanks to the 2017 regulations allowing far more freedom - the result being more powerful barge board designs.

Williams FW40 - slotted T-wing

Williams debuted a new T-wing design in Russia. Instead of having two separate elements as before (inset, red arrows), it now has a single element on top of the engine cover’s shark fin. That element now has a slot in, meaning the T-wing now effectively has a main profile combined with a flap.

Sauber C36 - barge board teeth

Sauber introduced these intricate little teeth to the lower section of the C36’s barge board in Russia, a solution not unlike that seen on the Mercedes since last year.

the latest upgrades to have boosted Ferrari - 05 May 2017

In Russia Ferrari claimed their first front-row lockout since 2008 - and what's more they did it at a track that had previously heavily favoured rivals Mercedes. We investigate two of the upgrades that helped boost the performance of the already hugely competitive SF70H in Sochi…

Brake duct upgrade Sochi saw new brake ducts on Ferrari’s car. As you can see from the arrows, hot air is expelled from the outside of the rim, but also note the small flap on the inside of the drum designed to create downforce. This year a lot of fins have been added to the area ahead of the rear tyre in order to reduce drag and improve airflow, and almost all teams have quite sophisticated solutions here.

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Haas: No quick fix for brake issues - 08 May 2017

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed that the American squad will revert to using Brembo brakes in Spain this weekend, following tests with rival supplier Carbon Industries (CI) in Russia recently. However, Steiner admitted they are still a way off resolving their ongoing brake problems.

Brake set-up proved to be Haas’s Achilles heel during their debut F1 campaign last year and the issues have persisted this season, prompting the team to try the switch to CI in Russia two weeks ago.

“We started off with CI brakes in Sochi,” said Steiner. “We weren’t getting enough cooling for them, and if you don’t cool them enough, you overheat the brake itself and the pedal gets long. Also, the wear is very high.

“We looked into it to see if we could survive a race, but we realised we could not. Therefore, the decision was taken to go back onto the Brembo. As it stands now, we will race Brembo in Barcelona.”

As is often the case with team mates, Haas’s Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen had differing preferences regarding the different brake materials and no firm decisions have yet been made on the optimum solution.

“To figure out how we can fix the problem will take a bit, but we will get there,” continued Steiner. “It isn’t an easy problem to solve. We will take our time. We know what we’ve got after our Bahrain test with CI brakes, and after Sochi in FP1 and FP2. We know what we need to do and what needs to get done, but it will take a little bit of time.

“Romain was pretty happy with the latest iteration of Brembo. He said he’s okay with it. Kevin liked the CI better because the bite is better. He just has a better feeling with the CI brakes. Now we need to get the CI working and see where we stand before coming to the absolute conclusion.”

Steiner explained that with testing effectively limited to Friday practice sessions, and with changing one component often having knock-on effects on others, finding a quick fix was never going to be likely.

“The obvious question, and rightly people ask, is that it cannot be this difficult to fix a brake,” he continued. “It actually is. It isn’t easy. This is because they’re highly complicated technologies, they’re highly advanced. When you change from one to the other, you encounter issues you’re not aware of until you try it properly.

“Without testing during the season, you need to do it in FP1 and FP2. You always have to wait two weeks to do something. So you can never go and do a proper test and do modifications. You always have to fit it in somehow. It compromises your testing, and that’s why it takes so long. It’s not that we’re not working hard. Our people are very competent and can do this, it just takes time."

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Tech insight - the ‘B-spec’ Mercedes that put Hamilton on pole - 14 May 2017

For the first round of the F1 season’s European leg in Spain, almost all the teams introduced major update packages to their cars. Nowhere are the stakes higher than at the front of the grid, so no surprise then that world champions Mercedes went all out in the development race for Barcelona…

It’s a solution never seen in Formula 1 racing before and one Mercedes obviously have confidence in. It was immediately used on both cars in Spain, without any apparent thought of a need for a back-to-back comparison, giving it first to one driver but not the other.

Together with this, there are also new bargeboards on the W08, new front and rear brake ducts, a new floor in front of the rear tyres, and a new rear wing and monkey seat.

And there is a new engine cover, which not only now features the driver number and name abbreviation, but is stiffened around the attachment point for the T-wing. This is to pass a new FIA load test introduced from Spain to limit flexing in this area.

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secret to Ferrari’s flying start in Spain - 16 May 2017

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was on pole for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, but it was the fast-starting Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel which led into Turn 1 – a stark contrast to two weeks earlier in Russia, when despite locking out the front row of the grid, both red cars got swallowed up by Valtteri Bottas’s Silver Arrows. So what’s changed?

The answer is Ferrari spent the fortnight between races working on start improvements, before introducing physical changes to Vettel’s car for Barcelona in the form of the modified clutch arrangement shown on his steering wheel above.

Following the trend set by Mercedes earlier this year, a revised clutch paddle now features ergonomically designed holes for the driver’s fingers (inset), giving him improved sensitivity and greater control over the car’s getaway.

The new arrangement on Vettel’s car replaced the previous wishbone clutch lever (below), which was retained by team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

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Monaco and downforce: Every little helps - 28 May 2017

McLaren MCL32 - updated front wing

McLaren’s latest front wing, as tested on one car only last time out in Spain, was already pretty intricate. For Monaco – where both cars are using it – they have added even more detailing, notably the three black winglets you can see on the inside rear edge of the endplate. It’s hard to know how much it helped, but the team did see both drivers make Q3 for the first time this year.

Mercedes F1 W08 - front brake ducts

Mercedes introduced a B-spec version of their car at the last round in Spain, modified in all areas including the brake ducts, which are very different to the ones raced previously. In Monaco you can see the cut in the big fin ahead of the inside of the front wheel, as well as an additional fin to create just a little more downforce and help clean up the airflow in this area.

Force India VJM10 - T-wing

In Monaco Force India became the latest team to add a T-wing to their car’s engine cover, this one featuring a distinctive three-plain design not unlike that seen on the Renault. Note also the hoop-shaped monkey-seat wing below.

Ferrari SF70H - modified monkey seat

In Monaco Ferrari revised their car’s monkey seat to create a little extra downforce, as well as retaining the double T-wing solution introduced in Spain. In the inset you can see the previous design.

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Ferrari fine tune their tyre management - 11 June 2017

One of the main factors behind Ferrari’s 2017 renaissance is widely believed to be improved tyre management. The Italian team did more development testing with Pirelli than Mercedes last year, and this season they certainly seem more able to get their rubber quickly into the right operating window – and keep it there.

And the increased emphasis Ferrari have placed on tyre management is highlighted by changes in the cockpit of the SF70H

Two rotary controls that were previously housed in the left cockpit panel behind the steering wheel have now been moved onto the face of the steering wheel. One is the ‘GRIP’ control, which helps the driver manage his tyres during the race.

This new positioning – in an area reserved for the most important driver functions – improves ergonomics and makes small adjustments easier.

There have been changes behind the wheel too. Whereas Kimi Raikkonen has chosen to retain the long, wishbone clutch paddle introduced last year…

...from this year's Spanish Grand Prix onwards team mate Sebastian Vettel has been using a new twin paddle arrangement with Mercedes-style grips for the fingers, giving greater feel and improved reation times.

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Vettel tests ‘shield’ frontal protection system at Silverstone . 14 July 2017

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has become the first driver to trial the FIA’s latest cockpit protection concept, running with it in the early stages of FP1 at Silverstone.

A transparent open canopy system constructed using polycarbonate, the ‘Shield’ is aimed at providing significant protection from debris, while ensuring unrestricted forward vision for the driver.

The FIA, which announced it was prioritising testing of the shield over the previously trialled ‘halo’ concept in April, is currently working with the teams to define the system’s geometry, with a number of indoor and outdoor tests currently being conducted and a first full track test planned for September at Monza.

However, in an effort to get initial feedback from drivers at the earliest possible stage of development, the FIA decided to conduct the short track test with Ferrari in Britain.

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