How teams have tweaked their cars to hit higher speeds in Jeddah

For the second round of the 2024 Formula 1 season, teams have to optimise their cars for a circuit which poses different set-up challenges to the Bahrain International Circuit.

Drivers spent a lot of time flat-out at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, dipping their speeds occasionally for its many high-speed bends. They average more than 250kph over a lap and touch 335kph in the speed traps.

The key to a quick lap time is therefore efficient downforce. This is an area where Red Bull has excelled under the current generation of technical rules. However McLaren made significant gains in this area last year, as did Ferrari towards the end of the season.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix may follow just one week after the opening race of 2024, but most teams have brought new parts, many of which are geared at optimising their car’s performance around one of F1’s quickest tracks.

Alpine, RB and Haas did not bring any updates for this weekend’s race.

2024 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix F1 teams’ updates

Red Bull

The world champions have adapted their RB20 in two areas which are common to several of their rivals, starting with the beam wing. Compared to the version seen in Bahrain, the Jeddah version is noticeably slimmer.

The rear wing has also been trimmed out for Jeddah, with a flatter plane and smaller notch in the top.

“At a given speed, the wing has less aerodynamic load and therefore drag than the design used in Bahrain,” the team explained. “Ultimately the [power unit] will balance out against the drag, albeit at a higher air speed.”

Red Bull have also modified an aperture for the suspension in their rear bodywork to further reduce drag.

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Ferrari

Ferrari’s low-drag rear wing and beam wing configuration for Jeddah is “fully carried over from the 2023 car”, say the team.

McLaren

McLaren’s Jeddah-specification rear wing is strikingly slimmer than the Bahrain version. This is most noticeable on shorter drop from its DRS actuator to the upper surface of the flattened plane.

They have also revised their beam wing which “features a new upper and lower element which, as a result of the interaction with the upper rear wing assembly, leads to an efficient reduction of downforce and drag.”

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Aston Martin

The revised rear wing on the AMR24 has a “less aggressive” shape and the team has brought two different configurations for the flat to further tune the car’s performance.

Williams

In addition to their shorter beam wing, Williams have also tweaked the exit of their front brake duct. This is smaller, reducing cooling on a track where the brakes are only touched occasionally, not used as hard as in Bahrain and have ample time to cool over a lap.

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RB

RB have brought the most extensive upgrade package this weekend. It includes a revised front wing with a shallower upper flap which is intended to work better with the rear wing.

The team has revised its rear bodywork to aid cooling and improve the air flow to its radiators. Its rear wing is considerably shallower than its Bahrain specification.

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