Baku Ablaze: F1 Teams Unleash Upgrades for Azerbaijan Grand Prix Showdown

As the high-octane 2023 Formula 1 season blazes into its fourth race, the city of Baku eagerly anticipates the exhilarating Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This pivotal event, hot on the heels of the opening rounds in the Middle East and Australia, brings the competition closer to Europe while showcasing an array of impressive technical upgrades across the grid. Defending World Champions Red Bull, alongside their fierce rivals, are set to battle it out on the high-speed Baku circuit, unveiling innovative enhancements to their cars in a relentless pursuit of speed and performance.

The 2023 Formula 1 season’s fourth race occurs in Baku this weekend, as the city welcomes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Following initial rounds in the Middle East and Australia, the Baku event signifies a more proximate competition to Europe, accompanied by various enhancements throughout the grid.

Defending World Champions Red Bull, victors of the last two Azerbaijan races, have introduced new components to the RB19 for this weekend’s contest.

These enhancements consist of measures to better cool the car, such as a redesigned sidepod inlet and a pair of winglets at the rear corner to assist in this area.

Red Bull has also made adjustments to the floor edge and floor fence to improve load performance.

A new dimension has been introduced for the radiator inlet cowling, making it wider and more shallow. The team claims this modification more effectively manages air pressure in the area. Lower air pressure boosts the velocity of the air entering the radiators, resulting in enhanced cooling. This, in turn, enables the radiator exits further back to be minimized in size, providing an aerodynamic advantage.

The updated inlets necessitate corresponding adjustments to the upper sidepod bodywork and a restructured floor edge geometry to better utilize the new airflow around the sidepod.

The outer floor fence has been fine-tuned to achieve the desired aerodynamic balance for this track, and the rear corner winglet has been divided into two components to increase efficiency.

For the weekend, Ferrari’s sole announced upgrade is a low-downforce rear wing design, while their rivals Mercedes have introduced several more upgrades in an effort to increase their speed.

The deflector positioned between the rear tire and outer diffuser wall has been altered to provide a smoother flow around the lower rear wing endplates.

The endplates themselves have also been adjusted to meet the low-drag requirements of this circuit, and the fairing surrounding the lower front wishbone has been reshaped to enhance airflow to the floor when the front wheels are turned.

Following their first podium finish this year in Melbourne, the team has made “minor adjustments” to the rear wing tip to reduce drag, expanded the front brake duct exit area for enhanced cooling, increased diffuser and floor load by altering the rear corner, and reprofiled the lower wishbone outboard fairing on the front suspension.

On Thursday, McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed that the MCL60 car, now equipped with upgrades in Baku, is the version that should have been present at the season opener in Bahrain.

The team has introduced a new floor body, new rear wing flap trims, and a low-downforce rear wing configuration.

Furthermore, a new element has been added to both the upper and lower sections of the beam wing.

In the meantime, Alpine has implemented a new floor as well as low-downforce front and rear wings. They have also made adjustments to the front and rear suspensions.

The car features an entirely new floor with redesigned tunnels. As part of this comprehensive update, the upper front wishbone fairing has been reshaped, and there are also modified fairings at the rear of the vehicle to take full advantage of the revamped floor.

Alfa Romeo reports arriving in Baku with a reconfigured rear wing featuring “a shorter chord” to decrease drag, while the beam wing has transitioned from “a stacked configuration to a biplane one.” A modified front wing is also at the team’s disposal.

To counteract drag at the high-speed Baku circuit, Aston Martin has incorporated smaller upper elements on the rear wing.

Haas has also made adjustments to its rear wing to optimize straight-line efficiency at maximum speed, while Williams has implemented changes to the beam wing and nose.

AlphaTauri has brought several upgrades for the race, such as alterations to the beam and rear wing to address drag concerns.

Additionally, the front wing has been modified, and the engine bodywork exit has been restructured to enhance cooling efficiency.

Lastly, at the car’s rear corner, a new rear brake drum features an extra inlet for improved cooling, and there are also refinements to the drum vane cascade for increased downforce.

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