Today was our first chance to see all the cars together without anywhere to hide their latest design developments and secrets before the new season…
Red Bull Racing RB20 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
Not only did Red Bull change the RB20's side-side intake arrangement, they also completely overhauled the car's interior setup as well, with the side-side intake having two V-shaped radiators positioned farther away from the floor.
This means that the larger saddle-shaped radiator arrangement atop the power unit has been abandoned, but with a smaller radiator located here instead. This shot of the car without the bodywork indicates that the intakes on the side of the halo feed airflow to the air ducts on the outside face of the hood shoulder.
Red Bull Racing RB20 details
Photo taken by: Motorsport pictures
Here's a shot of the intakes next to the halo that take in some of the airflow in that area and direct it back to the outlets on the side of the hood.
Mercedes F1 W15 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
Let's look under the hoods of the Mercedes W15, which has a completely different arrangement having completely ditched the Zeropod solution this year. Aside from the position of the upper side spar (SIS) and radiators, it is interesting to see the internal supports used to prevent the floor from flexing too much.
Haas VF-24 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The Haas F1 Team has opted for something a little different with the plane's front wing this season, with a double kick or wave-like appearance along its length.
Haas VF-24 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
Haas has also joined a number of teams that use semi-detached flaps, where the flaps do not connect to the endplate and each has its own drop surface, while a small connecting bar is used for legal purposes. She also added another wing attached to the vertical section of the last flap to help create more exterior wash.
Also note that the camera mounted on the inside of the end panel is mounted on its own wing as high as possible in the front corner.
Haas VF-24 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
A top-down overview of the outside of the front wing on a VF-24, giving us a great view of how the flap tips are turned outward to help generate the outer wash.
Details of the Mercedes W15 nose and front wing
Photo by: uncredited
There has been much talk about the upper flap arrangement in Mercedes' front wing, which features a very thin element in the non-movable area in order to meet regulatory standards and allow for a larger chord element outside of it.
Williams FW46 floor
Photography: Simon Galloway / Motorsport pictures
A great view of the Williams FW46's underfloor and diffuser as it is lifted off the track. Notice the recirculation in the vertical transition as it runs back toward the tail section of the boat.
Aston Martin AMR24 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
A close-up of the Aston Martin AMR24 and the tow bar rear suspension design it is using this season. Also note that the small wing under the bumper bodywork that the team introduced last season appears to have reappeared, albeit in a slightly different shape.
Aston Martin AMR24 details
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
A shot of the rear end of the Aston Martin AMR24 shows how sculpted the wing is, while we can also see how the wraparound edge wing connects to the underside of the floor.
Alpine A524
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
A close-up of the P-shaped side intake on this season's Alpine A524, which you'll notice has a downward-curved lower leading edge to aid flow to the intake and underbody.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
A closer look at the smaller, rounded intake used on the MCL38, with the remainder of the width of the sides providing space for the intake wing in front of and above the intake which has variable camber across its span.
Mercedes F1 W15
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The elongated side bodywork is shaped like the slope of the Mercedes W15, with an elongated centerline cut-out, while a wraparound spoiler – similar to the one used during the 2023 rear fascia – is also in use.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The Red Bull RB20 is equipped with two snorkel-like driver cooling inlets on the chassis, rather than the tip of the nose, due to new regulations for 2024 that allow them to be placed in either or both positions.
Front details of the Mercedes F1 W15 car
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The Mercedes is undergoing some changes in the garage, giving us a nice view of some of the interior suspension components, including the damper.
Alex Albon, Williams FW46
Photography: Zach Mauger / Motorsport pictures
The front wing, nose and suspension of the Williams FW46 were doused with flow paint so that the team could get visual confirmation that the aerodynamic surfaces performed as expected from CFD and wind tunnel studies.
Ferrari SF-24
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The Kiel probe was mounted on the side of the hood of a Ferrari SF-24 to collect airflow data in that area, and the team would likely be interested in correlation data in relation to new mapping around the corona.
Ferrari SF-24
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
Air pistons were also installed along with a small army of Kiel sensors behind the Ferrari SF-24's front wheel assemblies during the first few laps of the morning session.
Haas VF-24
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
Close-up of the side intake on a Haas VF-24 which features more underside this season.
Haas VF-24
Photo taken by: Giorgio Piola
The Haas team is clearly taking inspiration from Red Bull when it comes to the design of the floor edge and edge wing this season as well, with the split front section, upward passing edge, control strips and wraparound rear section, all design features seen on the RB19 last season.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524
Photography: Zach Mauger / Motorsport pictures
The sidewall of the Alpine A524 is being painted a flowing blue paint while the team looks for signs that the area is performing as expected.
Mercedes W15 details
Photo by: uncredited
This angle of the front brake duct shows how the end fence is located away from the drum and the intake extends across the gap, allowing airflow to flow outside the fence and between it and the sidewall of the tire.
Ferrari SF-24 details
Photo by: uncredited
While Ferrari mechanics make some adjustments to the SF-24, we got a relatively unobstructed view of some of the internal suspension elements.
Ferrari SF-24 details
Photo by: uncredited
Ferrari uses a more organic comb arrangement to collect data along with attached Kiel sensors compared to some traditional pistons you might see elsewhere.
McLaren MCL38 details
Photo by: uncredited
A close-up of the wraparound front portion of the Edge spoiler with lines included to help maneuver outward airflow, while the Edge spoiler wraps along its length and is coupled with a similar geometry at the edge of the floor.
Kick Sauber C44
Photo by: uncredited
Rear view of a Sauber C44, including rear spoiler, crossbar spoiler, brake duct winglets and diffuser.
VCARB 01 details
Photo by: uncredited
A large Kiel probe array was installed behind the rear wheel of the RB01 while the team looked to collect some data, with some noticeable changes already made to the car's side body geometry compared to what the images showed.
Alpine A524 details
Photo by: uncredited
The rear layout of the Alpine A524 is fairly similar to last year, with the team opting to use today's dihedral wing arrangement. Also note that the rear brake duct winglets have been cut much shorter than regulations allow.
McLaren MCL38 details
Photo by: uncredited
The McLaren MCL38 has Kiel probe pistons mounted across the rear of the car, in front of the rear wheels and also inside the diffuser, where the team is looking to capture real-world data that can be used to correlate with CFD and wind tunnel data. I've already seen it.
Red Bull Racing RB20 details
Photo by: uncredited
A rear shot of the RB20 indicates how the grooves in the hood taper outward as they end at the cooling port, while there are also ports on the side of the hood (around the Honda logo). There is also a significant amount of contour lines in the subfloor and diffuser surfaces.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: uncredited
A look at the Ferrari SF-24 from the front, where the handlebar-shaped mounts for the airbox cam covers are made more noticeable due to the lack of surrounding winglets. Cameras have been installed inside the side entrance that appear to be looking at the front tire and likely capture infrared footage.
McLaren MCL38 details
Photo by: uncredited
The McLaren MCL38 returns from a phase in which flowing paint was applied to the rear wing and crossbar.
VCARB 01 details
Photo by: uncredited
A close-up of the RB01's rear wing, which features a semi-detached end section similar to its predecessor.
Alex Albon, Williams FW46
Photo by: uncredited
The rear wing and crossbar of the Williams FW46 have been covered in flow paint as the team looks for visual confirmation that the assembly process is working as expected, aerodynamically.
Alpine A524 details
Photo by: uncredited
A look at how massive the Alpine A524's cooling pad is, with only a few of the vents used on this model on the back of the pad.
Mercedes W15 details
Photo by: uncredited
An overview of the Mercedes steering wheel with its various rotors, switches and buttons that control the power unit and the chassis. Note also that the cooling inlet is located in the adornment panel, which is possible thanks to new regulations this season, whereas previously it could only be located at the tip of the nose.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photography: Simon Galloway / Motorsport pictures
Red Bull RB20 with aero paint applied to the rear wing and crossbar.