Ferrari is the only one of the four leading Formula 1 teams not to bring any upgrades for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
Despite the limited practice time available in this sprint race weekend, most teams have brought multiple upgrades for their cars. They have taken advantage of the four-week break since the last round, which did not include any mandatory factory shutdown time, to press on with their development programmes.McLaren, who set the quickest lap time in five of the last six grand prix weekends, have brought a combination of aerodynamic and suspensions changes at the front and rear of their MCL38. These are designed to work together to improve the airflow.
One key change is a new single element lower (beam) rear wing, intended to perform with their high downforce rear wing assembly, which has proved especially effective. Significantly, they haven’t made any changes to the floor of their car, an area several of their rivals have encountered problems with.
Mercedes experienced problems with a new floor design they introduced at Spa and eventually reverted to a previous version. Now they have made further changes to its edge, adding a further vane, and altered the fences which draw air into it. Mercedes have also made suspension tweaks at the front and rear, the latter in conjunction with a revision to the sidepod inlet, aimed at improving the car’s cooling performance.
Red Bull have declared two changes to their car as they work to get on top of the problems they have experienced in recent races. Neither appear to directly relate to the controversy surrounding the presence of a front bib adjustment device on the RB20. They have increased the camber on the rearward portion of their floor edge to increase the load it generates and revised the upper surface of the sidepod in order to cool the car efficiently while using fewer louvre openings for better airflow.
Among the other six teams, Williams is the only one not to have brought new parts for their car this weekend.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Aston Martin have brought extensive revisions for the front wing and floor of their AMR24. The latter has been a major area of focus, including extensive changes to the body, detail tweaks to the floor edge and reprofiled roof and sidewalls of the diffuser.
Haas recently announced a new technical collaboration with Toyota, though its Austin updates will have been in progress long before then. They too have made extensive changes to their floor and also increased the cut underneath their sidepods to increase airflow to the rear of the car.
Pierre Gasly will run the only examples of Alpine’s new parts, while Esteban Ocon expects to receive them at the next race. Alpine have an updated floor and rear wing, the latter tailored to the demands of the Circuit of the Americas which required an efficient trade-off between downforce for cornering and low drag for top speed on the straights.
Similarly, only Valtteri Bottas will benefit from Sauber’s upgrade. The team, which are still seeking their first points of 2024, have an extensively revised front wing plus alterations to their suspension and rear brake ducts.
Although RB have only changed one part of their car, it is potentially the most significant, as the 01 chassis has a revised floor for this race.
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2024 United States Grand Prix
- McLaren insist stewards made ‘provable error’ after losing bid for review of Norris’ penalty
- Why McLaren’s focus on Verstappen’s driving failed to overturn Norris’ penalty
- Stewards reject McLaren’s request to review Norris’ United States GP penalty
- McLaren know Norris’ penalty is likely to stand – so what do they hope to gain?
- McLaren request review of Norris’ penalty for off-track pass on Verstappen
