News

All teams had recovered 2023 floor aero losses by race one

Published

2 weeks ago

May 23, 2023

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In response to the backlash many teams experienced last season following the return of ground effect rules, the FIA has changed the technical rulebook for 2023.

A key change is that the edge of the floor has been forced to be raised by 15mm, which is to prevent teams from causing dolphin problems by running cars too close to the ground.

Nikolas Tombazis, the governing body’s head of single-seater racing, estimated the resulting aerodynamic loss would be “equivalent to about half a second per lap”.

However, given the nascent stages of the new rules and the cost caps preventing some teams from upgrading later in the season, the pace of winter is already evident.

As a result, new McLaren team principal Andrea Stella reckons all 10 teams have regained half a second of their lap losses ahead of the opening round of the new season in Bahrain.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60

Photography: Steven Tee / motorsport pictures

Asked by Autosport whether the recovery was quicker than expected, he said: “I think all the teams recovered from the first race. The pace of development is such that this is a full recovery.

“The cars are definitely faster now than last year because almost everyone has brought a further development compared to the first race. Everyone is 0.2 seconds faster, 0.3 seconds faster.

“Some teams are going to work out some of the weight issues they have. To be honest, so do we. We’ve gained some lap times because we’ve put on weight now.

“The car is definitely faster than last year because of the aerodynamics and the weight.”

The difference in lap times between 2022 and 2023 is particularly notable at the latest round in Miami.

But that has been severely distorted by the resurfacing of the track, leaving Charles Leclerc’s pole time last season nearly two seconds behind Sergio Perez’s in 2023.

Ground Effect GP Pole

jackpot	2022	2023	profit
Bahrain	1m 30.558s (Leclerc)	1m 29.708s (Verstappen)	-0.850s
Saudi Arabia	1 meter 28.200 seconds (Perez)	1 meter 28.265 seconds (Perez)	-0.065s
Australia	1 meter 17.868 seconds (Leclerc)	1m 16.732s (Verstappen)	-1.136s
Azerbaijan	1 meter 17.868 seconds (Leclerc)	1 meter 16.732 seconds (Leclerc)	-1.156s
Miami	1m 41.359s (Leclerc)	1 meter 40.203 seconds (Perez)	-1.955s

While Perez was 0.065 seconds slower than his pole time in Saudi Arabia last year, this could be due to changes to the track for 2023 – namely a repositioning of the fence and the addition of a sloped curb at the high-speed Turn 22 – 23 The sequence reduces the speed by about 30mph.

News

Explained: Ferrari's ambitious upgrades for the SF-23 in Barcelona

Published

4 mins ago

June 3, 2023

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At the Spanish Grand Prix, F1 entered a dedicated permanent track for the first time since the season opener in Bahrain. Due to the nature of the Circuit de Catalunya, teams usually implement a lot of upgrade packages on their cars, as it is well known that if a team performs well in Barcelona, they stand a good chance of doing well for most of the remainder of the calendar. repertoire.

News

F1 drivers fear unintended consequences of Barcelona track changes

Published

6 mins ago

June 3, 2023

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For the first time since 2006, the championship will do away with the oft-maligned slow 14-15 left-right corner and will revert to two high-speed open right-hand corners to complete a lap.

This has increased the top speed of the final corner to 170mph and is intended to allow drivers to follow the main straight more closely into the slipstream and overtake.

While single-car racing got rave reviews from drivers for the changes to improve lap speed during Friday’s practice session, they don’t think the tweaks will help the pass as envisioned.

With the Pirelli tires’ lack of overtaking so far in 2023 due in part to overheating rather than degradation, AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries believes that will again be a major factor this weekend.

He said: “Let’s not jump to conclusions, but obviously the main reason for the change was for a better game.

“I’m not sure if it’s going to give us a better game…the left forward has suffered a lot.

Insight: What we learned from Friday’s practice for the F1 2023 Spanish GP

“It’s a tough job at the front. You can feel it now, on long distances, when you’re behind other cars it’s hard to keep up.

“Now there’s a lot of focus on the front axle, whereas before, there was a little bit of both…they did (change) for the right purpose, let’s put it that way.”

Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo Racing

Photography: Alfa Romeo

De Vries reckons it’s possible to advance two laps before “you end up paying the price” because of so much tire wear.

Drivers also mentioned the 2023 car, fueling concerns that the revised Barcelona lap would not lead to an increase in overtaking.

While the switch to ground effect is intended to help the car follow more closely, winter developments increase levels of dirty air. Drivers commented that this season was significantly harder to keep up with than the previous one.

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas told Autosport: “The faster the more fun. (But the level of overtaking) will be the same. The last corner is hard to follow.

“It’s just faster, but I don’t think it will improve overtaking. It’s a bit bumpy over there.

“So, there’s a little bit of movement, which makes it more challenging, but it’s a cool corner. It’s superfast. Definitely more challenging, but also for the tyres.

“It felt like the tires were traveling a lot in those two corners.”

News

Windsor: 'Bad news for competition that Verstappen is SO relaxed'

Published

50 mins ago

June 3, 2023

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Max Verstappen was the fastest driver on the track at all hours of Friday’s Spanish Grand Prix. The fact that the Red Bull driver also had time to listen to Helmut Marko’s call on the radio should cause concern for the race, according to Peter Windsor.