Technical Insight: Top teams developments inspired by Haas’ VF20?

Haas’ 2020 season has been somewhat of a disappointing, with just a solitary point on the board from 10 grands prix, thanks to Kevin Magnussen’s tenth place finish in Hungary.

The team has made no secret of the fact it hasn’t been developing its car as it pushes to understand its flaws, particularly around the tyres. Despite the VF20’s woeful performance, it has still inspired some top teams to ‘copy’ its design.

In Styria (round two), Red Bull adopted a rear-wing endplate blowhole design on the RB16 very similar in concept to that adopted by Haas in both 2019 and 2020. The “S” shape of the blowhole, which sits above and behind the rear tyre, serves to manage the turbulent wake which is created by the rotation of the wheel.

In the photo below, the two solutions have been compared where the apparent similarities in flow management can be observed, although the version seen on the RB16 (inset) is more extreme and sophisticated, with the upper “step” profile that is of Mercedes ideology.

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For Haas, technical development over the course of the season has been minimal, at least visually. The American team, like the other teams, has approved the components it wants to freeze for development purposes heading into 2021, with the FIA setting a deadline of mid-September.

Specifically, the front crash structure was approved, on which the external aerodynamic part of the nose develops. So it’s unlikely Haas will work to develop this area, unlike McLaren which has delivered a new concept in the last few races. Haas is sticking with the wide pylon concept, which also features a small grid between the support pillars and the small cape, which serves to reduce the vortices that form under the nose and disturb the air that passes under the chassis and the T-tray.

Ferrari at the last Russian Grand Prix in Sochi brought the first package of important updates on the SF1000, where new turning vanes were seen with vertically developing vortex generators. This solution is very similar to the one Haas has used on the VF-20 since its presentation in Barcelona.

In the photo below we can see the technical solution installed on the VF-20 with these many aerodynamic devices, that create mini vortices that then help the barge boards to create clean flows and reduce turbulence towards the floor. Ferrari, like Red Bull, may have copied the idea from this solution.