Formula 1 2024: five themes for presentations | FormulaPassion

By Carlo Platella
A few days and the veils will begin to fall from the 2024 single-seaters, unless presentations are limited to the livery or artfully retouched renderings. In the third year of the ground effect regulations, inevitably the curiosity is not the same as in the first season, but there is still no shortage of topics of interest. For several teams, 2023 was a championship of analysis, divided between investigations into the errors made and the study of solutions which earned Red Bull 21 victories in 22 races. The 2024 presentations will be an opportunity to evaluate the responses received from recent analyses, showing the fruits in terms of shapes and architecture.

A grill of Red Bull?

The first question is how much the 2024 cars will resemble the world champion Red Bull and how much there will still be room for diversification. A similarity in shape does not necessarily coincide with a similarity in concept, which instead lies in the design method and the ways in which the car works on the track. However, it is undeniable that in recent months there has been a general convergenceespecially in the shapes of the bodywork, in the external details of the bottom and in the flattening of the side air intakes.

However, some differences remain, such as those between the smooth Red Bull bellies and the sides of rival cars, hollowed out in the upper part. It is not a given that convergence will proceed exclusively in the direction of the world champions, who could instead in turn draw inspiration from the competition. There is great curiosity then to observe the work carried out by Ferrari and Mercedes. Both teams announced revolutionized cars, while ensuring that they won't be two clones of the RB19instead proposing original solutions.

Tie rod or strut?

With the many new features announced by various teams, especially Ferrari and Mercedes, the suspension schemes are also being called into question, in the search for geometries that better support the new aerodynamic objectives. Come back like this the comparison between pull rod and push rod kinematics, the difference of which lies in the housing of the spring-shock absorber group at the top or bottom of the frame. It is worth underlining that there is no clear superiority of one over the other, as the effectiveness of the scheme depends on the method of implementation and how it is designed to work with the rest of the car.

With the spread of the bellies that descend towards the rear, channeling the flows downwards into the gearbox area, the prices for the push rod at the rear axle are growing. The strut scheme, in fact, frees up space in the lower part, removing an obstacle to the free circulation of flows. Yet, in recent years there are those, like Williams, who have chosen to continue on the pull rod path despite the slide bellies, remembering that no solution is obvious. Eyes on the suspensions therefore, especially in the case of Mercedes, the solutions that Aston Martin will be able to implement for its rear will depend on whose choices.

A breath of fresh air for the engines?

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Alpine Team Principal Bruno Famin explained how a limit to the latest performances of the Anglo-French team was the poor integration between chassis and power unit. In fact, to express itself at its best, the engine needs to breathe adequately, both in terms of air draft for combustion and in terms of cooling and heat evacuation. Intake and cooling always come at the expense of external aerodynamic cleanliness, a compromise valid for everyone, but which for Alpine was even more limiting.

On the new car it will be interesting to evaluate if and how the Enstone team has devised a better integration between chassis and power unit. The focus falls above all on shape of the bonnet and air intakes lateral and central, which will tell a lot about the arrangement of the radiators. However, the same theme affects the entire fleet of starters. Those like Ferrari and Mercedes who introduce profound changes to the bodywork, in fact, will necessarily also have to have rethought the housing of the power unit, the accessory components and the cooling aerodynamics.

Tight mouths?

One trend in the development of ground effect Formula 1 cars has been progressive upward crushing of the side air intakes, a practice taken to the extreme by Red Bull. The intent is to flare the lower part of the sides as much as possible, thus conveying air along the lower contour of the bodywork, to then reach the rear axle and introduce energy into the diffuser environment. At the same time, the teams use the excavation under the sides to pressurize the center of the car, increasing local pressure to push the turbulence from the front wheels outwards, away from the bottom.

The question we ask ourselves is how far we can go, particularly if Red Bull takes vent crushing to a new level. Some teams believe that they are already close to the limit, beyond which earnings would be minimal. In fact, the air entering the cooling vents also contributes to the pressurization of the girth, which, traveling 10-15% slower than the speed of the machine, exerts greater pressure. Excessively thinning the lateral intakes would therefore not only impact internal cooling, but would not even help increase local pressure. However, it is up to the teams to decide where the optimal compromise lies, also based on how each decides to arrange the internal components.

What will the surprises be?

In 2022 Mercedes took everyone by surprise with the W13 without bellies, whose lateral protection cones were separated from the bodywork, a solution devised by exploiting the gray areas of the regulation. A year later, however, it was Ferrari that exposed a new regulatory hole, with the SF-23 showing off two S-Ducts in the center of the car. Both stunts did not earn any world title, but they still generated amazement and stimulated general curiosity. Who knows, maybe the 2024 round of presentations will also offer some surprises, keeping in mind that in modern Formula 1 it is never the single solution that makes a car competitive, but the package as a whole.