The Formula 1 paddock has had the summer break to determine how best to approach the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and six teams have decided to bring updates to the circuit this weekend.
Championship leaders Red Bull has brought just a single update to its all-conquering RB19 machine, with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit electing to make alterations to the Beam Wing by revising cambers and angles of incidence across particular elements.
The reasons for Red Bull’s changes to the Beam Wing are performance-related, with the goal being to optimise pressure distribution and improve the overall performance of the wing.
Mercedes continues to tackle its performance deficit to Red Bull in the form of three updates to its W14 machine with performance gains as the primary objective.
The Brackley-based squad has elected to make changes to the Floor Edge, Sidepod Inlet and the Beam Wing of its car.
The Floor Edge revision comes in the form of a reduced span forward floor edge wing, which is said to improve airflow toward the rear wing and thus improve downforce toward the rear of the car.
The Sidepod Inlet introduces a decambered mirror stay which not only strengthens the mirror stay but also works to improve airflow toward the rear wing.
Improving rear downforce and load across the rear wing is also the goal of the revisions Mercedes has made to the Beam Wing, by increasing element camber and chord.
McLaren admitted it got its circuit-specific set-up at Spa-Francorchamps wrong and will be hoping to avoid the same mistake at Zandvoort.
McLaren’s MCL60 has gone through several revisions since the start of the year.
The Woking-based outfit has been something of a revelation of late and has brought two circuit-specific updates to the MCL60 this weekend in the form of new assemblies for the Rear and Beam Wing to meet the drag requirements of the Zandvoort circuit.
Aston Martin is the team bringing the largest upgrade package to Zandvoort. The Silverstone-based squad emerged as the closest challenger to Red Bull at the start of the season but rapidly fell back into the clutches of rival teams before the break.
At Spa-Francorchamps, Team Principal Mike Krack said the team’s slump came “much quicker” than members of the team wanted. As a result, the AMR23 sees updates brought to the Floor Body, Floor Fences, Floor Edge and Diffuser.
Changes to all of these components come in the form of subtle volume adjustments, with each amendment designed to work in conjunction with updates to the other components, with the net gain said to be a general improvement in airflow and load generated by the floor – which is the key to performance in the Ground Effect era of F1.
Haas is a team that has struggled all season long with race pace – owing to aggressive tyre degradation – and has brought three updates to its car for the Zandvoort weekend.
Two performance-related revisions come in the form of an updated Front Wing and updated Nose, with the Front Wing getting a thorough overhaul in the form of a new arrangement of mainplane, flaps and other components, with the nose getting reprofiled in tandem. The aim of these upgrades is to improve airflow behind the Front Wing.
Haas has also made a circuit-specific update to the Rear Brake Ducts in order to improve brake cooling.
The sixth and final team to bring updates to its car at Zandvoort is AlphaTauri, with the Faenza-based squad making a single revision to the AT04 in the form of a new Rear Wing Endplate and hopes that by updating the tips of the wing, it can improve the overall efficiency of the entire wing assembly to best suit the Dutch seaside circuit.
The likes of Ferrari, Alpine, Alfa Romeo and Williams have elected not to make updates ahead of the Dutch GP – with Free Practice 1 commencing at 12:30 local time
Keyword: The upgrades F1 teams have brought to the Dutch GP