F1 tech race: Giorgio Piola on 2019’s finer details

Pockets of performance can always be found when new regulations come into play, especially in areas where the FIA have already tried to close things off. As they say, the devil is in the details.

Mercedes AMG F1 W10 front suspension

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

All of the teams have looked to carve out space for small winglets on the brake duct this year, as seen here on the Mercedes W10.

Alfa Romeo Racing C38 fins

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Similarly, many teams now have winglets mounted on the ramped section of the chassis, used to just tidy up the airflow as it travels over the nose/chassis transition. Here’s the Alfa Romeo C38.

Red Bull RB15 new fins

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

While several other teams have added some relatively rudimentary L-shaped winglets, it was Red Bull that added some more stylised winglets on Max Verstappen’s car in Canada.

Mercedes AMG F1 W10 DRS

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes has been playing around with serrated surfaces for a number of years now to help improve efficiency, and this year they opted to do so with the trailing edge of the DRS pod.

Mercedes AMG F1 W10 serrated rear wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes also ran a serrated trailing edge on its rear wing mainplane in Azerbaijan.

Ferrari SF90 DRS

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari also took on a design feature we’d already seen from Toro Rosso, whereby the DRS pod has an extension that limits the upper flap’s travel.