Japan’s round of the world championship may follow just one week after Singapore’s, but more than half the teams have nonetheless brought new bits for their cars.
Inevitably, the packages are not as extensive as those brought by the likes of McLaren and AlphaTauri to last week’s race. They are also more focused on efficient downforce generation, as Suzuka features several long acceleration zones in addition to medium and high-speed corners.Ferrari ran their new floor on Charles Leclerc’s car only in first practice, in order to compare its performance with the previous version which Carlos Sainz Jnr ran. The team found it delivered the efficiency gains they were seeking, and both drivers ran it for the later session. Williams have also tweaked their floor, reducing the height of one of their fences to adjust the flow.
Following on from their major updates at the last round, McLaren and AlphaTauri have a pair of updates each, though the latter’s revised wing mirror has only been altered subtly compared to the version seen in Singapore. AlphaTauri have also modified their rear wing where the plane meets the endplate in order to improve efficiency.
The upgrade McLaren brought for Lando Norris only is available to both drivers this weekend. They have also revised their beam wing, again in the name of improving the trade-off between downforce and drag, and added a packer to their recently-modified sidepod inlet to further improve both how air flows around it and the cooling effect it produces.
Mercedes have made a minor change to their rear wing endplate which they concede will bring a small drag penalty. Aston Martin’s sole change is to its front brake duct scoops, the size of which has been reduced, as less cooling is required at this track.
Four teams – Red Bull, Alpine, Alfa Romeo and Haas – have brought no updates this weekend. However the world champions are running the floor they introduced in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix but did not run in the race.
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2023 Japanese Grand Prix F1 teams’ updates
The teams described the changes to their cars for this weekend’s race as follows.
Ferrari
Floor body
Reason for change: Performance – flow conditioning
Difference: “Revision of front floor fences, floor edge, mid floor and diffuser sidewall. Sidepod undercut re-designed to suit”
Description: “Not specific to Suzuka circuit and part of the standard development process, the floor topology has been revised focusing on losses management and load distribution, which translates into a car efficiency increase”
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Mercedes
Rear wing
Reason for change: Performance – local load
Difference: “Vane added to outer face of rear wing endplate.”
Description: “This vane generates a small vortex which in turn generates a small amount of local downforce and drag.”
McLaren
Beam wing
Reason for change: Circuit specific – drag range
Difference: “New offloaded beam wing”
Description: “A new beam wing geometry, featuring a reshaped upper and lower element, reducing aerodynamic load and drag efficiently, suitable for this circuit.”
Sidepod inlet
Reason for change: Performance – flow conditioning
Difference: “Sidepod Inlet Packer”
Description: “The sidepod inlet has been modified with the addition of a packer, which improves local flow conditioning and results in improved cooling performance.”
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Aston Martin
Front corner
Reason for change: Circuit specific – cooling range
Difference: “New front brake duct scoop with reduced inlet size compared to the previous version.”
Description: “The smaller inlet area reduces mass flow in the brake duct and hence cooling of the disc and calliper. This is a setup component for circuits with lower braking requirements.”
AlphaTauri
Rear wing
Reason for change: Performance – local load
Difference: “Relative to the previous geometry, the rear wing endplate junction with the rear wing elements has been updated.”
Description: “The updated tips increase the efficiency of the assembly of this rear wing drag level, which is anticipated to be the best choice for this circuit based on lap time analysis.”
Other – rear view mirror
Reason for change: Performance – drag reduction
Difference: “Compared to the baseline rear view mirror assembly, three turning vanes have been removed from the outboard mirror stem.”
Description: “Tested and raced at R15, this is a repeat test item at higher downforce than that event. While removal of thee vanes reduces drag, the modification also reduces outwash that acts upon upper front wheel wake losses, so their removal will be retested at this medium downforce circuit to assess the drag reduction versus wheel wake control trade.”
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Williams
Floor fences
Reason for change: Performance – flow conditioning
Difference: “The height of the most inboard forward floor fence is reduced.”
Description: “This trim of the most inboard forward floor fence offloads the fence which affects both the local load and the rearward flow field.”
2023 Japanese Grand Prix
- Norris: Red Bull’s dominance down to ‘small things which make a big difference’
- Mercedes must halve deficit to Red Bull before 2024 season starts – Hamilton
- Mercedes expect “tight” fight for second in championship after Ferrari gains
- Norris breaks Hulkenberg’s record for most points without a win in F1
- Transcript: What Alonso really meant by being “thrown to the lions” at Suzuka
AlexS
22nd September 2023, 13:17
Nice. I like very much these descriptions.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
22nd September 2023, 17:55
Ferrari has also brought a new clutch and gearbox.