Fresh F1 tech approaches tuned for Madrid’s street circuit

The top four teams have opted to bring developments to the first Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring circuit in Madrid.

The new venue, coupled with it being a street circuit, is one aspect that has led a number of teams to opt against adding new components into the mix when trying to gain an understanding of how their cars perform on track. With the development race still a crucial part of the season, however, the top four all had at least one new part to test in FP1.

McLaren has a rear wing update with additional elements added that are aimed at “improving flow conditioning onto the rear wing mainplane and flap elements.” Mercedes, meanwhile, has also tweaked its rear wing by reducing the span of the central winglet mounted above the rear wing flap for drag reasons, but has added a winglet behind the exhaust and reprofiled the lip of its front brake shroud.

Red Bull’s focus is on the rear bodywork assembly, where it has added winglets to increase aerodynamic load, while a change to the floor bib is designed to make it more robust.

The only update at Ferrari relates to the rear suspension, with what the team describes as a small change that adapts “the overall incidence and spanwise loading distribution, simply returning a local load benefit.”

Only two other teams have new components, with Alpine adding an extra element to the forward floor board to generate efficient local downforce, while Cadillac has updated the trailing edge winglet on its rear wing flap – both increasing load and improving overall aerodynamic stability – and an additional vane on its diffuser.

Despite Madrid being the last round of the European swing of races – meaning teams are able to try and get any new parts to the circuit late given the close proximity to their factories – there are no updates submitted by Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas, Audi or Aston Martin.