Technical updates: Austrian GP

Red Bull, McLaren, Alpine and Williams are the only four teams to bring technical updates to the Austrian Grand Prix, as the race features Formula 1’s second Sprint format of the season.

As the second of back-to-back races with Silverstone, time was tight to finalize new parts and get them to Austria, with the majority of teams focusing on bringing upgrades a week earlier. The Sprint format also sees just one practice session before qualifying, limiting the amount of time available to analyze any updates.

Despite that, four teams have brought new parts, with championship leader Red Bull introducing a central cooling element to the engine cover, as well as revisions to the floor fences and front brake discs for cooling purposes.

McLaren has followed a similar cooling trend but with the rear brake ducts, while it has also tweaked its rear wing endplate, trimming the lower edge.

There’s also a rear wing update for Alpine, with the French constructor opting to change the top rear wing. The team states that a bigger endplate notch simultaneously reduces drag and increases downforce.

New rear wing for the Alpine A522 at the Austrian GP. Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images

The only other team with new parts submitted to the FIA is Williams, which is introducing a front suspension development with the majority of the front suspension leg cladding surfaces updated.