F1, Alfa Romeo: three new wings in Baku | FormulaPassion

Straight-line speed remains one of the biggest issues that are slowing us down Alfa Romeo this start of the season. The technical department led by Jan Monchaux worked hard during the break to present itself in Baku with some innovations that would allow the C43 to defend itself better in the long run. The Swiss single-seater contested the Azerbaijani Grand Prix with updates to the front, rear and beam-wings, which will also come in handy on upcoming low-download tracks.

All new rear wing

The biggest work at Hinwil concentrated around the rear wing. The philosophy of the straight main profile supported by the double support pylon does not change, exactly as in the previous versions. However, Alfa Romeo has optimized a whole series of details to try and find a few km/h more speed. Overall, the incidence of the wing decreases, but above all the proportions between the two profiles change, with the main one now smaller than the upper movable flap. The team’s willingness to look for a greater speed gain shines through at the opening of the DRSfollowing an evolution of the wing already tested by Ferrari.

However, the news does not end there. The two support pillars have been redesigned, to improve the compromise between aerodynamic resistance and guidance offered to the direct flows on the wing. Along the upper edge of the mobile profile, the notch corresponding to the DRS actuator disappears, as does the Gurney flap. Finally, the geometries of the fittings change with the vertical strips of the endplates, an area where we see more and more experiments along the grid.

Front wing and beam-wing

In Melbourne on the C43 he had made his debut the new front wing, designed to connect around the new muzzle which now stops on the main profile and no longer on the penultimate element. In Baku it therefore also made an appearance the low-load version of the Australian wing. What changes is the upper profile, tapered in the innermost part both for reasons of balance with the more relaxed rear and to improve aerodynamic penetration.

At the rear, however, a new beam-wing makes its appearance. Contrary to other teams, Alfa Romeo made use of the double profile configuration in Baku, but with the gull wing design. First introduced by Alpine, this solution would seem to be particularly effective on low-load tracks. Again in Baku, McLaren also introduced a similar beam-wing, confirmed for the race.

The updates in Baku weren’t enough to allow the C43 to improve in straight-line speed readings. On the other hand, it is positive for the team to see that it has brought updates to the track in all the races held so far. It’s only a matter of time before the effort at the factory translates into results, which could come at more driven tracks like Imola, Monaco and Barcelona. In the middle of the parenthesis Miami, which in 2022 saw Alfa fight on equal terms with Mercedes.