2007 Malaysian GP Technical Review

After the artificial confines of Melbourne, Formula One hit a proper circuit for the second round in Malaysia. The Sepang circuit is fast becoming a classic, with its early position in the calendar setting it out to be the first true test of the cars. Which is why this race is the one to focus on for technical insights.

Its long straights and hard braking into tighter corner sequences separate the emphasis between aerodynamic and mechanical efficiency, with the circuit's straights demanding an aerodynamically efficient car while the braking and slow corners on medium downforce settings require a car to be well balanced, not to mention good on its tyres over the hot tarmac and the heat that tests the engine and cooling systems.

This year's race saw a raft of small developments to the cars; some being specific to the cooling demands of Sepang, while others being first steps in developing the car during the year.

This year the race was preceded by an unusual gap of three weeks, which allowed all but one team the unusual opportunity to test at the circuit the week before the race - an advantage only usually seen in Monza, which has a test in the month before the race.

This test was provided by the FIA and Bridgestone in order to save the teams the trip back to Europe and was a welcome benefit of the single tyre supply rules. Another provision made under these rules was also brought into play when it rained for the last day of the test, as the test was extended by one day to allow a full complement test days in the dry.

It also allowed the teams to prepare for the revised floor deflection test, brought in after the FIA published a clarification following McLaren's protests at the first race in Australia. In the clarification, the FIA now asked for the test teams remove any mountings designed to protect the floor by allowing it to flex upwards.

Thus Ferrari's unconcealed spring mechanism as well as other teams' supporting struts needed to be removed. Hence the floor now has to be able to withstand the test loading with outwardly rigid fixings. Ferrari altered their device to a more BMW-inspired mechanism, which features a telescopic cylinder the innards of which are kept hidden away.

The new test has affected all teams to some degree or another, and various reports have suggested some teams suffered more problems than others. This is no admission of guilt, but as the rules have asked for legitimate parts to be removed for the purposes of the test, most teams will have found their methods to mount the heavily ballasted floor section marginal when being tested.

However the test still specifies an upwards deflection, where as the drooping of the floor could still be exploited for aerodynamic gain. No doubt this story will be raised again during the season...

Tyres

After criticism at the season-opening race in Australia, Bridgestone changed their marking system for soft tyres for this race. In Melbourne, the supplier added a small white circle to the sidewall of the tyre, but this was only visible when the car was stationary. Instead, Bridgestone added a white stripe to one of the grooves on the front and rear tyres which remains visible when on track. This worked well, although the grooves started to disappear on the rear tyres when the tough Sepang circuit, with its awkward camber, conspired to wear away the line as the stint wore on.

In Australia, most teams opted for a conservative choice and ran the race on the harder tyres, only completing one stint on the softer compound. But the durability of the softer compound surprised most teams and testing proved the softer option tyre was lasting enough to keep a good pace up through out a stint.

Thus, in Malaysia, most drivers started the race on soft tyres and left the slower harder compound for the shortest possible last stint. This has raised complaints that the Bridgestone compound range is too hard for a multiple stop race.

Honda

Honda's problems with the new car appear to be no nearer a resolution. Through out the weekend the team's car was way off the pace and the car's well publicised problem of stability under braking has been the root of the problems.

These simple nose fins (yellow) are the first step in Honda recovering their season © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

The team have confirmed the problem is most likely to be an aerodynamic one and, importantly, not created by the rear aerodynamics. To aid the car in Sepang the team ran new nose fins either side of the nose cone (yellow), as well as seeing a return of the high mounted rear crash structure wing.

These two additions would have given the team a bit more downforce at the cost of some efficiency. The technique of adding simple devices like these is often used because altering the chosen main wing profiles for the race can sometimes lead to other problems (particularly if they are angled too steeply) such as the rear wing adding too much drag for straight-line speed or the front wing masking cooling or rear wing performance.

Red Bull Racing

As Red Bull Racing's all-new car develops, the team is showing the first fruits of their hard work. Having tested mirrors mounted in a conventional position in testing, the appearance of pod wings in Friday practice explained the decision to relocate the mirrors.

Red Bull finally sport pod wings, forcing the mirrors to move inboard © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

The new pod wings are quite small and square by modern standards, but their location on the outer shoulder of the sidepods means that the Ferrari style mirrors had to go, although strangely the team decided not to adopt Renault's combined pod wing mirrors combination.

Spyker

As announced, Spyker skipped the testing days and arrived on Friday with several major upgrades to the car. This is the first work of Mike Gascoyne and the team's aerodynamics partner, Aerolab.

Two main areas altered by the upgrade were the sidepod fronts and the diffuser area, and ex-Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne's influence is clear on the sidepod upgrade. The pod wings and bargeboards are reminiscent of the parts Toyota upgraded to midway through last season. As such, the pod wings are quite long and less wing shaped than the old Spyker design, while the bargeboard is mid-sized and mounted to the sidepod floor.

At the rear, a more important upgrade has taken place. The diffuser now sports a revised shape, while the side channels exploit an extra pair of fences over the single pair used to date. Additionally, the rear brake ducts form a turning vane in line with Ferrari's 2007 thinking. The brake scoop now is extended downwards to form a vane sending the air around the inside of the wheel and keeping turbulence from the diffuser area.

New Toyota inspired pod wings and bargeboard were part of the Spyker upgrade © Scarborough (Click image to enlarge)

With these changes, it would be logical to assume more rear downforce at a low cost in drag was the aim. With this the team could either run more front wing for a global increase in downforce or take out some rear wing angle to maintain downforce but improve drag.

These changes are a sign that Gascoyne's direction and Spyker's money are bringing results.

When the team existed as Jordan and Midland, budget was tight and few major new parts such as these were introduced to manage costs. The floor upgrade as well as the other new parts must have been a big decision, especially as the team are still planning the B spec car for later this year.

BMW

Having launched the car with dramatic new CFD-developed chimneys, BMW tried two new sets of chimneys in Sepang - one much larger pair and a smaller pair with a similar exit area to those on the launch car. However the launch car has a long trailing extension from the chimney, and this acted like a flow conditioner to route the flow around to the rear of the car. The new smaller chimneys do not have the extension, but have a simple profile mirroring the teardrop shape opening in the top of the chimney.

Williams

Williams's three vanes seen just behind the front wheel are to improve sensitivity © XPB/LAT (Click image to enlarge)

Williams had an assortment of new aero upgrades which constituted revisions to the front wing, endplates, bargeboards and diffuser. The turning vanes around the front wheels have become increasingly complex, in contrast to the simpler lines along the sidepods, and the trailing edges of the vanes now feature three closely coupled vanes.

While this at first would appear to make the set-up sensitive to changes in attitude, technical director Sam Michael exclusively told Autosport.com: "The extra vane (3rd one in the middle) on the trailing edge of the new turning vane is actually less sensitive because it helps the airflow maintain its desired flow path in cornering conditions."

At the rear of the car, the diffuser has had a flap similar to that used last year added over the side channels. Again Michael explained its philosophy. "We run this and a gurney flap, and it depends on what you do with your suspension legs," he said. "Renault, for example, have their rear lower wishbone rear leg acting in this area to do the same thing that we do with the diffuser flap. Anyway, regardless of whether you use suspension legs, flaps or gurney flaps, they are all to increase diffuser suction."

With the major redesign over the winter, Williams' pace has certainly improved, as the demanding Sepang track suited to the car and both drivers were fast through out the race despite their differing strategies.

Ferrari's rear wheel fairings have lead to this extended rear wheel nut © XPB/LAT (Click image to enlarge)

Ferrari

Having run a variety of rear wheel fairings since last year, Ferrari has centred on a version with only a small hole through which to bolt the wheel to the car. This slows pit stops and to aid the pit crew, the team have added the extension to the wheel nut which is show. This guides the gun down to the crenulations on the nut itself, and with this development the team were seen to run the same enclosed fairing through the race, where as in previous races more open designs were fitted for later in the race.

McLaren

Having used the test to run new aerodynamic parts, McLaren's upgrades were, as usual, very subtle. The front wing endplate received a vertical gurney on its trailing edge, while the two struts supporting the rear had a small flap added halfway to bring a little more downforce.