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Revealed: Key F1 tech spy shots at Australian GP
Giorgio Piola gets under the skin of the F1 tech war in the Melbourne paddock.
Giorgio Piola Matt Somerfield
Edited: Mar 23, 2017, 2:19 PM
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Melbourne was the first opportunity to see the packaging of the Mercedes laid bare in its garage.
Note the 'S' duct inlet just behind the wing pylons used to collect airflow and pass it over the upper chassis surface downstream.
The T-wing introduced for the pre-season test has already been cast aside with an additional shorter-chord third element added atop the device (white arrow) while the lower edge has now been curved (red arrow).
Note that the team has adopted a hydraulic heave damper.
New triangular vanes now sit astride the endplate (red arrows), while a wide canard sits in behind the main cascade (white arrow).
The brake disc now has five drilled holes in chevron pattern across face to dissipate heat. This design was previously reserved only for Ferrari but discs are 32mm wide in 2017 rather than 28mm.
Ferrari has gone one step further with their drilling arrangement for 2017 to aid cooling, the Italian team opting for six holes.
Note the high position of the suspension rockers.
The team has cut away the upper section of the bulkhead, much like Mercedes did in 2016, maximizing room for suspension componentry such as a hydraulic heave element.
Some sidepod detail is exposed here as the bodywork used to obfuscate the inlet is removed during buildup. The upper inlet is surrounded by the bodywork (white arrow) and another internal flow conditioning element is placed ahead of the inlet (black arrow).
Note the use of Belleville washers on the third suspension element.
The turning vanes start much earlier up the side of the nose, allowing the air to navigate inside sooner.
The upper flap has been trimmed to suit the characteristics of the Albert Park Circuit.
The complexity of the SF70H's sidepods is captured in this image. Note the upper inlet, which is easy to spot due to the unpainted checkerboard (spread tow) carbon fibre section.
Ferrari has introduced new wing mirror stalks in Melbourne - rather than being vertical stalks, they now arch over, displacing the mirrors to a more outboard position.
Sauber has a new front wing for Melbourne, which features a new aggressively out-turned 'r' shaped vane protruding from the penultimate flap, in order to shape the flow of air around the front tyre.
The winglet stack (white arrow) is even more complex this year, while the gurney (white arrow) now has a number of additional surfaces added to it.
Along with the change to the wing mirror stalk, Ferrari has revised the shape of this fin, in order to improve flow into and around the sidepod.
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