The modifications center on the car’s sidepods, revising the shape of the air intakes and bites to improve flow to the radiator, cooler and interior ancillary equipment. The reshape will obviously have an impact on external traffic as well.

Red Bull achieved this by widening the aperture and raising the bite front, which changes the aspect ratio without significantly affecting volume.

This is a win-win between cooling needs and increased undercut space under the sidepods to channel more airflow to the rear of the car.

Red Bull RB19 sidepod air intake comparison

Photography: unconfirmed

The rest of the sidepod geometry has also been subtly changed as the body widens around the air intakes. This helps to take advantage of the extra space provided for the undercut to improve the physical interaction with the floor and its aerodynamic kinship.

To complement it, the geometry of the floor edges and the aerodynamic furniture mounted on them have also been subtly redesigned to improve their performance.

To further capitalize on the efforts here, there are also changes upstream, massaging the outer floor rails at the top edge to better tune local airflow and take advantage of changes made downstream.

Red Bull Racing RB19 side detail

photographer: George Piola

Revisions have also been made to the rear brake duct fence, with one of the winglets now split in two to better manage airflow in the area.

While other teams have introduced new, lower-downforce rear wing variants to deal with the challenges posed by the Baku street circuit, Red Bull has not, opting instead to use a solution that has proven so effective this season.

It’s likely to use a similar setup to the one used in Australia, indeed, with its lower downforce rear wing option paired with a single-element lower spar wing.

Red Bull Racing RB19 technical details

Photography: unconfirmed

Mercedes reduces drag

Mercedes also has a kit of parts available in Azerbaijan as it looks to secure a place among those at the front.

There is a mix of track-specific updates and ongoing development components, but given that this weekend is the first to adopt the new format, which consists of only one free practice session and four race sessions, the team opted to A larger parts package with minor changes is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

At the rear of the car, there are changes to the tip section of the end plate of the rear wing and the lower deflector of the rear brake duct.

The tip section has been an area of ​​constant focus for Mercedes over the course of these new regulations, with the team designing its end plates in such a way that this section can be quickly replaced without having to completely remove the wing.

Azerbaijan made slight changes to the shape of the end plate and tip section to improve flow around the corners of the end plate, the corners were cut away and filler plates are still available for them.

Meanwhile, the lower rear brake deflector now features a three-step profile rather than the larger single step that can be found on the W14 for the first three races of the season, as the team looked to improve local performance and assist the side diffuser .

To improve cooling on the braking-demanding track, Mercedes also increased the size of the rear-facing outlets, while making changes to the fairing on the lower wishbone at the outboard end, as the team wanted to improve airflow with the rear floor interaction.

Mercedes F1 W14 garage detail

Photography: Simon Galloway/ motorsport pictures