Technical updates: 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

McLaren, Red Bull, Williams and Audi have all brought major upgrade packages to the first race of  Formula 1’s latest triple-header at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Despite the street circuit nature of Baku, the timing allows teams to get three consecutive weekends of performance out of any new parts brought this weekend, and defending constructors’ champion McLaren has taken the opportunity to further develop the MCL40. A significant number of areas have been addressed, beginning with the sidepod inlets and engine cover combination.

McLaren is aiming for further performance gains from a new floor edge and diffuser in conjunction with the bodywork, while the rear suspension fairings have been revised. More circuit specific changes have been made to the rear wing – reducing drag in straight line mode – and a new cooling louvers layout is available.

Red Bull’s upgrade is slightly smaller than McLaren’s, with five submissions of new components. The most significant is the floor body and diffuser, with the team describing it as “a new floor geometry with subtle changes within the permitted geometry to extract more local load whilst maintaining flow stability.” There’s also a new sidepod design to meet the floor, updated cooling louvres and revised mirror and halo fairing geometries.

One team that has been open about its latest update being planned for Baku is Williams, where there is also a new floor, combining with new surfaces at the rear of the car around the rear impact structure. The front and rear brake ducts have been revised for aerodynamic purposes, as has the rear suspension to compliment the new flow structure from the other developments.

While not listed as a new component based on its geometry, the chassis itself has also been updated by Williams, with a significant weight loss that should lead to guaranteed lap time gains.

Audi has the biggest list of new parts, with 14 in total on the official submissions list. The nose, front wing and front wing endplate have all been updated “to deliver a better flow to the rest of the car while covering the balance levels of the new package”, while the front suspension also have new fairings.

A brand new floor – including edges and the diffuser – has been designed to deliver a consistent aerodynamic load increase, while there is new bodywork around the engine cover and halo. The rear suspension covers and rear brake ducts have also been updated, as Audi also introduces a new rear wing assembly across the beam wing, rear wing and endplates.

There are smaller updates at Racing Bulls – where a new front wing, front brake duct furniture and front suspension fairings combine to improve aerodynamic performance downstream of those parts – and Cadillac. The newest team on the grid has updated brake cooling inlet and exit duct profiles to try and address an ongoing weakness with that part of the car, while the front suspension fairings have also been revised, and there has been a tweak to the diffuser to “increase local aerodynamic load across the operating envelope of the car”.

Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Haas and Alpine have not submitted any new parts this weekend, although Mercedes plans to introduce an upgrade at the next race in Malaysia.