Mercedes adds to upgrade package as top F1 teams reveal changes

The German manufacturer hopes that this weekend's event at Barcelona will deliver a better opportunity to understand the true potential of its car overhaul than it was able to gauge at Monaco.

With the tight and twisty Monte Carlo layout making it almost impossible to get clear data on the progress made, the high-speed aero demands of Barcelona should better allow a clear picture to emerge.

Rather than stick with the same package it used in Monaco, Mercedes has made two refinements to its car ahead of free practice.

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An upper mirror vane has been removed as it is no longer required with the new sidepod solution introduced in Monaco. This should help improve airflow to the rear of the car.

Mercedes W14 rear

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes has also tweaked the side-view profile of its diffuser to increase flow into the area, which should help deliver more downforce.

Ferrari's new package

The biggest tech talking point of the Spanish GP so far has been Ferrari's change of sidepod philosophy, as it moves away from its in-wash solution and more towards a Red Bull style of downwash.

Explaining the thinking behind this specific change, Ferrari said: "This development focuses on flow conditioning towards the rear wing assembly and rear corner, combined with a different cooling flow management, for overall car efficiency improvements."

As well as the sidepod changes, Ferrari is introducing a revised top rear wing profile and changes to its flaps to better suit the aerodynamic requirements of the Barcelona track.

Ferrari SF-23 floor

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari has also introduced a new floor edge to capitalise on the sidepod changes and help better manage airflow for increased car performance.

Red Bull floor and diffuser

While Red Bull is dominant in F1 right now, that has not stopped it from bringing further improvements to its RB19 for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Milton Keynes-based squad has revised the edge profile of its floor to better suit local pressures for increased downforce.

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Furthermore, the top corners of the diffuser have been reprofiled with greater curvature.

A small increase in local load towards the trailing edge of the diffuser profile in the upper corners has been extracted with a more curved profile, which has taken inspiration from competitors' designs.