It’s too early for a full overhaul of the car’s concept but these are the two upgrades to Mercedes’ W14 for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – and the full list of every other car’s upgrades.
Mercedes
Rear Wing
Camber of upper wing reduced to produce a wing efficiency appropriate for this high speed circuit (lower drag than Bahrain).
Floor Fences
Small reduction in fence loading, which results in better flow being sent to the rear of the floor, improving diffuser performance.
Red Bull
Beam Wing
Demands of the circuit in Jeddah are better served with a lower level of downforce and therefore drag, for a given speed, the effect being a better lap time compared with higher rear wing levels.
Rear Wing
Same rationale as the beam wing applies as the behaviour of the upper rear wing is the same. Demands of the circuit in Jeddah are best served with a lower level of downforce and therefore drag, for a given speed, the effect being a better lap time compared with higher rear wing levels.
Rear Wing Endplate
This is a consequential geometric change of the wing elements and is not a primary influence of the downforce and drag generation of the wing assembly. The 2021 regulations allowed a modular approach for such changes.
Ferrari
Front Wing Endplate
Not strictly linked to the peculiarities of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but more part of the standard development cycle, effort on junction treatment pays off in terms of overall downforce, flow conditioning and car efficiency.
Floor Edge
This geometry evolution is part of standard development and is not track specific. This floor edge is focused on flow conditioning improvements for underfloor flow quality benefits.
Beam Wing
This depowered beam wing is specific to Jeddah Corniche Circuit characteristics in terms of car efficiency requirements, shedding Cd at the appropriate track ratio.
More follows…
Keyword: The two upgrades Mercedes have brought to the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix revealed