Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Each team brings new upgrades to their cars as they file in for an action-packed weekend in the “City of Winds”
The announcement of the new Sprint Qualifying format has sprayed a mist of uncertainty over the formula one grid. However, extra points are up for grabs on a sprint weekend, so teams are given the opportunity to catch up.
The 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend will see two qualifying’s, two races, and only one practice session. The cars will run in the hot, turbulent air for more time this week than any of the previous races.
Each team’s package looks completely different than it did just a month ago in Melbourne. The number and significance of the upgrades varies from team to team.
Who has brought the upgrades needed to push for pole positions, and who needed to study more over the month-long break?
Mclaren
Mclaren has brought quite the haul with them after a disappointing start to the season. The papaya team has brought three upper beam wing elements and two lower beam wing elements. The upgrades push a larger amount of air under the car, boosting downforce. They also have tweaked their rear wing for Baku, allowing for lower drag. These upgrades are to reduce drag and are specific to the high speeds of the Baku city streets.
Mclaren also brought a new floor this weekend that was expected to significantly improve floor structure strength. The steps that were taken to reduce drag though seem not to have been enough. After the weekend’s first qualifying, Mclaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were P18 and P20 in the speed trap respectively. Lando finished P20, clocking 328.4 KM/H, while Oscar was only 3.1 KM/H faster. They were split only by De Vries in the Alpha Tauri.
Ferrari
In qualifying for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc did what he does best. A pole position in Baku. Ferrari has only opted to bring one upgrade this week and plans to bring an entirely new package to Imola. The upgrade for Baku consists of a revised rear wing to lower downforce. Sainz and Leclerc finished P2 and P4 in the speed trap respectively, but it was Charles Leclerc who was the king of Qualifying on Friday. Fans of the team can soon expect upgrades to see sidepod, floor, and rear suspension changes.
Alpine
Alpine are another team that have completely changed their car during the ‘Spring Break’. As well as a return to the blue livery, Alpine have completely redesigned their floor. On top of that, they revised both their front and back suspension. Pierre Gasly’s early exit to qualifying was not exactly what was in the book for this week, but Ocon’s pace in Q2 indicates a fight they definitely weren’t expecting. The Williams of Alexander Albon sits in P13, just one place behind Esteban Ocon. A team like Alpha Tauri, who had a driver suffer the same fate as Gasly, also saw success from Yuki Tsunoda, who out-qualified both an Aston Martin and Mercedes.
Mercedes
Mercedes has brought along three performance-based upgrades on top of their circuit-specific duct area increase. A new Rear Wing Endplate has been dawned on the Mercedes for this week, though the change is subtle. This is with the purpose of shedding drag for the high-speed street circuit. Mercedes Drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had a shock in Q2. Russell was eliminated in P11 with a time of 1:41.654, while Lewis Hamilton only nearly escaped with a 0.004s gap to his teammate. Mercedes has also brought a front suspension upgrade, which has allowed for better flow to the floor. This should hopefully be a long-term fix to the downforce problems that Mercedes has faced this season.
Red Bull
The big upgrades for Red Bull come in the form of a new Floor Edge and a new Engine Cover. This is on top of the new Sidepod Inlet that they will be running at low downforce circuits this year. The Sidepods improve the cooling effect of the RB19. The Floor Fences will now have a revised Top Edge. These upgrades mostly went unannounced, as Max Verstappen said in an interview with Sky Sports, “I think naturally every weekend there are little things you put on the car.” After losing pole to Charles Leclerc after the GP qualifying, Red Bull set their site on domination during the race on Sunday.
AlphaTauri
A disappointing start to the 2023 season means that AlphaTauri picked up right where they left off at the end of 2022. With the addition of rookie driver Nyck de Vries to fill in for Pierre Gasly who moved to Alpine, the team are struggling to find points and veteran leadership. The car under De Vries and Tsunoda got a massive slate of upgrades around Baku. A crash in Q1 for De Vries means that he will start from the back of the grid Sunday. The biggest upgrade of their lot is a Rear Corner upgrade that will increase rear brake disc cooling. It has also been redesigned to increase downforce.
The rest of the field
Haas, Alfa Romeo, and Aston Martin have each only brought upgrades that will be changed at the end of the weekend, as they are circuit-specific. Williams however, has brought a nose upgrade which is designed to alter the curvature of the underside of the nose box. This is an upgrade that is speculated to stay on the car as an official upgrade, but has not yet been guaranteed.
With only one Free Practice session over the course of this weekend, it is a shock that we have seen as many upgrades brought to Baku as we have. Less Free Practice time means less race simulation. We begin to enter a point where the team’s first reaction to race laps, are during the race.
Featured Image Credit: @MclarenF1 on Twitter