Bahrain test: Latest F1 2021 technical developments

Red Bull Racing RB16B rear detail

1/18

Note the high angle of the Red Bull RB16B’s rear suspension as it’s mounted to the side of the gearbox carrier, which clears room for flow over the top of the diffuser. Also note the angled strakes within the diffuser which help to align the flow as it moves through it.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes AMG F1 W12 floor

2/18

The Mercedes W12 floor solution which caught the eye on day one of the pre-season test. Note the shape of the bulge over the diffuser and the tunnel created in the coke bottle region that the team ran last year but expands on the solution in order to mitigate the issues faced by the new regulations.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

AlphaTauri AT02 bargeboard and turning vanes detail

3/18

A close-up view of the AlphaTauri AT02 from the front, which shows how the upstands on the bargeboards align with the front wing tips and Y250 region (red arrow). It’s also interesting to see the width and scope that the elephant ear winglet has (blue arrow), whilst the trailing edge of the cape and footplate of the turning vanes likely create a cascading effect that draws the airflow down onto the bargeboards footplate (red arrow).

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Alfa Romeo Racing C41 front wing detail

4/18

Alfa Romeo has an interesting new solution on the front wing which features a hole in the footplate that will allow airflow to migrate to the underside of the assembly and change the way the wing generates outwash. It’s similar to a solution we saw AlphaTauri introduce last season and will be interesting to see if any other teams follow suit in the coming months.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

McLaren MCL35M floor detail

5/18

McLaren trialled a new floor solution on the second day of testing which holds some similarities to the looped flap configuration they tried in combination with a 2021-specification floor in 2020. The flap installed on the MCL35M is used to bridge the gap between the two vertical strakes and add more definition to the flow that’s being pushed around the rear tyre.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Alpine A521 floor

6/18

Alpine trialled a new floor on the second day of testing which featured three strakes on the outer boundary of the floor ahead of the rear tyre. Much like the aerodynamic furniture mounted on the bargeboard they appear to have been covered by a chromium alloy too.

Photo by: Uncredited

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12

7/18

The Mercedes W12 with flo-viz paint applied to the underside of the front wing which the team would photograph upon return to the garage as it looks for visual clues as to whether it’s behaving as anticipated.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

McLaren MCL35M rear detail

8/18

Another view of the strake in the central section of the McLaren MCL35M’s diffuser and is formed by the extension of the floor’s transition.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari SF21 detail

9/18

A side view of the Ferrari SF21’s floor which we can note has the three twisted vanes midway along the floor and a series of fins on the edge of the floor ahead of the rear tyre.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari SF21 detail

10/18

The three-quarter view of the Ferrari SF21’s rear end gives us more of an idea of how far out the angled the vanes are in the middle of the floor. The pitot tubes mounted on the floor will help the team to collect more data about the airflow in towards the coke bottle and over the top of the diffuser.

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521

11/18

A side view of the Alpine A521 shows that the team is already working with different cooling configurations as the bulky bodywork behind the airbox has been reduced and a larger shark fin used.

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW43B

12/18

Side view of the Williams FW43B shows the exaggerated sidepod ramped bodywork.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M

13/18

McLaren with a kiel probe rake mounted behind the front wing and ahead of the front tyre to capture data on how the airflow is performing.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M

14/18

More than a splash of flo-viz on the side of the McLaren MCL35M gives an overall impression of what the airflow is actually doing as it downwashes onto the floor and also how the flow streaks down from the halo over the raised cooling outlet.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02

15/18

A rear view of the AlphaTauri AT02 not only gives us a good view of the diffuser but it’s also worth noting the use of a double wastegate pipework, whereas Red Bull have moved to a single outlet.

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21

16/18

Nice rearward action shot of the Haas VF-21 and the diffuser but also note the T-Wing which appears to be moving around more than perhaps the team has planned for. It was also using a much smaller cooling outlet today as it clearly proved out what the larger one could achieve yesterday.

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21

17/18

A top-down quarter view of the Aston Martin AMR21 shows off the notch in the floor where the diagonal cutout required by the regulations commences.

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo Racing C41

18/18

Note the additional camera equipment being carried aboard the Alfa Romeo C41 in this image, with thermal imaging cameras placed within the pods on the side of the airbox that look at the front and rear tyres and capture temperature information throughout the course of a lap.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images