2006 European GP Technical Review

After the point-and-squirt nature of Imola, the fifth round of the championship moved to the more flowing Nurburgring circuit, host of the European Grand Prix - although the track is anything but the typical fast flowing European track.

The track is tightly packed with a sequence of corners - some of which are longer and faster sequences; but it is primarily distinguished by slower corners. This places the track on the high downforce end of the scale, in order for the cars to grip in the tighter corners; but mechanical grip is also critical, albeit on a smoother and relatively kerb-free track in comparison to Imola.

Being in the German forest, the track historically suffers from mixed weather conditions, and the usual cooler weather makes it hard for the teams to get temperature into the tyres. This year, however, saw another race with atypically warm weather, which eased the problems with cold tyres and the resulting understeer they bring.

New engines

With the season well underway and reliability being mixed around the grid, around half of the cars on the grid entered the Grand Prix with new engines.

This meant new specification engines for Kimi Raikkonen (Mercedes), the two BMW-powered drivers, and Midland's Toyota duo.

Fernando Alonso's Renault engine was brought up to the same spec as teammate Fisichella's, as the latter had his new specification engine back in Imola.

Reliability

The weekend's reliability problems began with Cosworth replacing both of the Williams engines after the Saturday practice session. Analysis of the oil in the engines, now in their second race weekend, showed that their reliability couldn't be guaranteed for the race. So both engines were changed for qualifying, handing Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg a ten-grid position penalty accordingly.

In the race, engine problems afflicted Jenson Button (Honda), Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren) and Ralf Schumacher (Toyota). The other main reliability bugbear of hydraulics hit Webber's Williams and the pair of the Super Aguris.

Lastly, the Red Bull teams posted only a single result, with Tonio Liuzzi and David Coulthard involved in an accident at the first corner, and Christian Klien's race ending with a transmission problem.

Technical updates

Wheel fairings

Ferrari have raced with carbon fibre fairings fitted to the outer rim of the rear wheels since the opening race in Bahrain. While the other teams' protests and media attention were focused on flexible wings, the equally questionable adoption of these fairing was ignored.

In fact, the fairings were allowed under a clarification to the brake duct rules agreed by the FIA and the teams' technical working group (TWG). Now Toyota have also adopted fairing over the rear wheels, in a solution that is bound to be adopted for the upcoming high speed and heavy braking circuits, such as Canada and Monza.

The rules allow an area on the inside face of the wheels for bodywork. This has been used for the scoops, which are used for brake cooling, but the rules also allow bodywork to sit within the wheel, and hence we've seen the barrel-shaped ducts sitting around the upright and brakes since 2001.

Ducts exceeding the dimensions allowed under the rules are subject to penalties, and several teams have been penalised for just such infringement over the years. Most recently, McLaren and Renault have sported small fin-like brake ducts below the larger ducts on their front wheels. Although these "ducts" did provide some cooling, their design was largely as a flow conditioner for the front wings wake.

Then, last year Ferrari and Toyota went a step further and produced bodywork on the inside face of the wheel in the allowable area for brake ducts, but the devices were not inlets and hence could not be used for any form of brake cooling.

Toyota's wheel fairing is flat like Ferrari's initial design, but has a smaller cutout © XPB/LAT (Click image to enlarge)

The FIA demanded that these "ducts" must constitute some form of cooling duct and not simply be a closed aerodynamic profile. Both teams opened up a conciliatory inlet, but the primary function of the devices remained as an aerodynamic aid and not for cooling.

Over the winter, the TWG agreed that any bodywork within the area defined in the rules was freed up, and as such did not have to function as a cooling device.

Ferrari arrived in Bahrain with a novel take on the revised rule, using bodywork on the outside face of the wheel, but critically still within the boundaries set out by the FIA.

Initially, these were simple flat hoops, but these were subsequently updated in Imola, where the fairing now became three-dimensional and formed a tube going inside the wheel.

The flat fairing probably acted more as a streamlining solution for the wheel than for any form of cooling, but the revised "duct" would certainly have some effect on brake cooling. It works with the barrel and donut-shaped ducts inside the wheel, to route the heated air more effectively away from the brake and out into the dirty air, passing around the outside of the wheel.

Renault

Renault have added an extra pair of strakes (yellow) to the diffuser, which should improve consistency © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

Renault sported new front wing endplates for the Nurburgring, with the coved section towards the rear of the plate now much less bulged. This curved shape creates a vortex that send the flow tumbling around the front wheel and helps fill in the aerodynamic void created behind the wheel, which reduces drag.

With the raising of the front wing tips by five centimetres last year, this curved section is now often much less pronounced than before. Many teams are running vary flat endplates, and Renault have made a step towards this with their new design.

Meanwhile, at the back of the car, the team's diffuser has evolved this year with the side tunnels split by an extra strake (yellow). Strakes within a diffuser act as fences to keep pressure spilling from a high pressure region to a lower pressure region.

With more strakes, the diffuser should be more consistent albeit at the cost of total downforce. Furthermore, on the Renault's underside, the team's brake ducts extend sideways to the maximum possible width to produce an aerofoil section.

Toyota

Testing since Imola has been a busy time for Toyota with the roll-out of the TF106B. This is a major mechanical revision of the current TF106 chassis and is due to debut in Monaco.

Two pairs of mid wings and two pairs of turning vanes have been added to the TF106 for the European GP © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

The major revisions are to the monocoque, which now has the redundant single keel removed, and the internal around the pedals re-sited. Also, the suspension is a rationalisation of the TF106 - the keel-less design is carried over, but the push-rods are set at a higher angle, and this forces the rockers to be placed in large blisters moulded into the top of the monocoque.

For the Nurburgring, the TF106 appeared with new aerodynamics around the middle of the car. The floor fin now gets a pair of small turning vanes (yellow) to route the flow around the undercut in the sidepods and no doubt to alter the pressure distribution under the floor to improve the diffuser's effectiveness.

Higher up, two pairs of mid-wings have been added to the roll structure. These again bolster the effectiveness of the rear end in creating downforce.

Red Bull

Two minor revisions to the front of the car were brought to Germany. Firstly, the rear view mirrors have been strengthened to reduce the wobbling created by the V8 engine that affects the driver's view in racing conditions. Thicker, wider mounts have been added to the large boxy mirror's cases, introduced with the revised cooling design before Bahrain.

Red Bull's new nose fins (yellow) improve downforce, while new mirrors improve visibility © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

Also changed are the two flat fins on the nose. These are now replaced with aerofoil section fins (yellow). They are as wide as the rules allow in this area (20cm from the car's centre-line) and are used to flatten the flow that goes over the front wing and heads towards the rear wing.

BMW-Sauber

Arriving with new spec engines after their previous units completed two race distances, the team again ran their Imola bodywork, which also includes narrower Cascades over the front wing, that again were not raced.

Plus, the taller spine to the engine cover, which requires a detachable section to allow the mechanics to remove the cover without impacting the rear wing, and that will house a shelf wing for forthcoming high downforce tracks.

Williams

A new small turning vane (yellow) was added to a revised bargeboard on the Williams © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

Some minor revisions introduced for Imola were bolstered with revised bargeboards for the European race. The larger bargeboard has a more downward curved profile and has a small vane (yellow) added to the floor level fin.

Super Aguri

Despite focussing to get their new car ready to race, SUper Aguri arrived with yet another aerodynamic tweak for the outgoing SA05.

The cooling chimneys received a small flip-up. As the flip-up is only on the outside of the chimney, it probably works with the winglet and larger flip-up to send flow around the outside of the rear wing, which should allow the rear wing to be more efficient in creating downforce.