As a direct consequence of this delay F1 the arrival of performance-oriented components at the track, teams will unavoidably narrow their focus even further. During Free Practice sessions, teammates will frequently experiment with various aerodynamic configurations and setups in an effort to achieve the balance that is required throughout each lap.
In most cases, qualifying approaches like this result in convergence on both sides of the garage.
but as we will see, that is not always the case.
The Mercedes team started the weekend in Abu Dhabi on the same footing on Friday by using the rear wing assembly with medium-high downforce and an upper flap with a cutout in the trailing edge (upper left).Be that as it may, as the drivers looked for somewhat more execution in the center area of the lap, both attempted another lower downforce choice (upper right).
Due to the losses in the first and third sectors, it is evident that the top-speed advantage provided did not provide the overall laptime boost desired, so modifications were made to both vehicles prior to qualifying.
In fact, George Russell went one step further with his setup by selecting a Gurney on the upper flap’s trailing edge that Lewis Hamilton’s W13 did not have.However, Russell chose the full-height version for Abu Dhabi rather than using the upper rear quarter endplate cutout in his breakthrough Brazil weekend (inset).
During Free Practice, Red Bull and Ferrari also experimented with various rear wing configurations. Both teams tried a configuration with more downforce (bottom images) before selecting their lower downforce counterparts.
In addition, Ferrari evaluated a revised floor design during some practice time (see below), probably in preparation for changes that the team plans to implement in 2023. The team needed real-world data to validate their findings in CFD and the wind tunnel.
The changes made to the floor section just ahead of the rear tire are the main focus of the new design.When it comes into contact with the tire’s face, an upwardly scrolled edge will alter the course of the airflow, resulting in a behavioral shift.
also had test items available at the season’s final race as it tried to validate a new development path for 2023.
In contrast to Ferrari, its investigations led to a more extensive redesign of the floor’s edge, which included the edge wing.The design of the test item was more like the one favored by Red Bull, which has since been copied by others across the grid.
A simpler Gurney took the place of the scroll with flow deviators in the forward section of the floor’s edge. A cutout behind it now houses a lower section of the floor, and the remaining section of the floor taper out in front of the rear tire.
Given the tendency for them on the other designs mentioned, it stands to reason that there would also be a small tab attached to the skate. This tab protrudes from the skate’s side and is visible in the frame created by the rearward floor cutout.This should help alleviate some of the problems caused by tyre squirt because it will act on the airflow in relation to the height of the skate rather than the floor surrounding it.
As a result, the skate serves multiple purposes: in addition to providing a physical barrier against the track surface as the car Compresses, it also improves Zerodynamics by Shifting the Airflow’s path Backward.
The 2023 Challengers will now be Analyzed as they get ready to build for the Upcoming season.
McLaren made it clear in their Submission prior to the event that they were eager to see how powerful this could be in Real-world Conditions:We want to see how this floor edge affects the car’s ride height behavior.