Piola selects F1 2019's top developments so far

The first Formula 1 test always offers plenty of pre-season intrigue, and the opening quartet of days at Barcelona was no exception as the world got its first proper glimpse of the cars in 2019 specification.

New rules aimed at reducing downforce and the outwash function of front wings has given each team a lot of work to do over the winter to reclaim performance.

Although the launches offered some indication of how each team approached the design process, there were still many changes ahead of the first official test - some teams, perhaps understandably, hadn't fancied showing their full hands before the season got under way.

Winging it

Throughout launch season, the new front wing formula prompted many different design approaches to reclaim a smidgen of the outwash lost. Of the different varieties seen over the past fortnight, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo have arguably created the most extreme variants.

Mercedes' wing perhaps satisfies the spirit of the regulations the most, using a large total chord in order to create a large amount of front-end downforce. Each side shows a tiny amount of sag in the middle, resembling two spoon shapes, as the outboard ends of the wing elements lift up slightly. At this point, the enlarged space between the wing and the floor can house a vortex, which develops from the bottom of the endplate. This can be sent outboard, around the front tyres.

The team's attitude to endplate design seems to be at odds with that, as the top corner of the trailing edge curls inwards. This pairs up with the front wing flap adjuster, which is deliberately angled to promote a little bit of further outwash. It seems that these two pair up to create a tighter vortex, which has more energy and moves around the front wheel with a little bit more speed.

Alfa's wing is a lot more deliberate in creating outwash, featuring four flaps with a minimal angle of attack at the outboard section of the wing. This is bounded by the flap adjuster and the endplate, situated as low down as possible to control airflow and bring it away from the front face of the tyre.

The flap adjuster and endplate are shaped to contribute to this; although the net result of this geometry is reduced front-end downforce, that's alleviated by the shape of the main top flap, formed by conjoining the top two elements to offer a greater useable wing chord. Although a more draggy option, the inboard ends are separated to reduce that, as well as control the vortex produced here below the suspension components.

The remainder of the wings in the field currently slot between the two extremities, and it will be interesting to see which solution becomes more widely adapted throughout the year. Ferrari and Toro Rosso have both opted for designs similar to Alfa's, albeit less extreme, while Red Bull has fallen more in line with what Mercedes has brought to testing.

Stepping up to the (end)plate

It's a big season for Renault. After a few building years and heavy investment to return the Enstone facilities to their former glory, the team now boasts a top-line driver pairing in Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg. Now it must keep up that investment if it's to crash the Big Three's monopoly on the sharp end of the grid.

Having launched with a conservative-looking evolution of last year's RS18, Renault emerged in testing with a number of new developments - most notably around the bargeboard area. But there was also a neat addition to the rear wing endplates, picking up the sawtooth overhanging strakes design seen sporadically over the past couple of seasons.

Although the behaviour and effectiveness of these designs was open to debate last season, it seems as though the new regulatory regime has wrought sufficient change at the front of the cars to make it worthwhile evaluating such concepts again. Quite simply, the strakes are able to manage some of the airflow thrown upwards by the rear wheels, but also develop a vortex which rolls up along the inside, increasing the magnitude of the low-pressure zone of the wing at its mountings.

This increases the suction at the outside extremities of the wing. But Renault has spaced out its serrations, leaving four points to retain the structure of the endplate. From these, with careful shaping, the team can derive a bit of extra downforce.

Masters of suspense

Over the past two seasons, Mercedes has used a small horn attachment to the front uprights, on which it mounts the top wishbone. Doing so enables the team to mount the suspension components as high as possible, limiting the blockage produced when picking up airflow off of the front wing.

Mercedes has positioned its brake duct as high up as possible, just ahead of the horn to minimise the frontal area of the car. The duct area, slashed for this season to fit within the bounds of the wheel rim area, features a number of small turning fins to collect airflow from the front wing and throw it towards the bargeboard area.

Mercedes' pushrod also features a small bulbous bracket mounted to the upright. This appears to allow for a small amount of curvature in the pushrod end, producing the correct suspension travel, and it also serves an aerodynamic purpose since the attachment can be wholly tucked behind the brake duct aperture.

Williams has also created something along these lines, using a similar philosophy in its attachment point. It's more similar in design to what a collection of teams employ at the rear end, using a 'convex' extension rather than Mercedes' 'concave' horn.

The wishbone is carefully shaped to minimise the blockage to the sidepod inlet further downstream. When attached like this, there's also an effect on the suspension kinematics, and the load paths from the wishbone angled downwards should work the front tyres a bit harder.

Ducting and diving

Proving to be fleet-footed straight out of the stable, the Ferrari SF90 featured a number of curiosities around the sidepod area. The team is continuing its development of the highly positioned cooling apertures it has pioneered over the past couple of years.

The rear halo mounting point features a small channel next to it, and is fed by the inboard section of the sidepod-mounted turning vane, which is curved to form a pair of vortex tunnels. Together, these drive airflow with greater energy around the top of the sidepod, linking up with the duct positioned behind the halo mounting point. Here a low pressure zone is created, and this develops an area of suction that can be exploited.

Using the corner of the sidepod inlet, airflow can be drawn out, ensuring that there's minimal separation with the flow shed from the halo geometry. This is something that the likes of Mercedes and Williams experimented with last season, and hence Ferrari has decided to throw its lot in with it.

Since the teams have focused on getting acquainted with their new cars in the first week, expect plenty more developments during the second - especially as each outfit begins to chase performance ahead of the season opener in Australia.