Bite-size tech: Williams FW38 new front wing

However, in Austin we can see that it has a new front wing available which features four strakes under the flaps, rather than two.

This comes as part of an ongoing development of a front wing concept that failed to give the kind of uplift in performance that was expected when it was first introduced in Austria.

So much so that the team did a full-blown race one specification reboot in Hungary to try and understand what had gone wrong.

Williams FW38 serrated flap

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Since then it has stuck with the wing and introduced a serrated slot in Singapore (highlighted in yellow) to help improve how airflow circulates around the central portion of the wing.

The strakes that have been increased in number for the American GP sit in this same centralised section of the wing that the serrations occupy, which seems to indicate it has discovered what the initial issues were.

Williams FW38, front wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

These strakes not only help to balance the demands of the wing as the car rotates but also create vortices that break up pressure on the surface of the tyre, improving how air washes around them.

This type of change is not only about improving the localised performance of the wing but also the impact that the now revised aerodynamic structures will have on the parts downstream.