The car upgrades F1 teams have brought to Baku

The fourth round of the 2023 Formula 1 season takes place in Baku this weekend, with the city hosting the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After the opening rounds in the Middle East and Australia, Baku’s round signals a closer event to Europe, with a number of upgrades introduced across the grid.

Reigning World Champions Red Bull, who has won the previous two editions of the Azerbaijan race, have brought new parts to the RB19 for the weekend.

These include a push to help cool the car, with a revised sidepod inlet and two winglets at the rear corner aiding that department.

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Red Bull has also made revisions to the floor edge and the floor fence to see load improvement.

Ferrari’s only listed upgrade for the weekend is a low-downforce configuration rear wing design, while rivals Mercedes has introduced a handful more in a bid to improve its pace.

After reaching the podium for the first time this year last time out in Melbourne, the team has made “subtle changes” to the rear wing tip to shed drag, it has increased the front brake duct exit area to improve cooling, increased diffuser and floor load through changes to the rear corner while also reprofiling the lower wishbone outboard fairing at the front suspension.

McLaren’s Lando Norris stated on Thursday that the MCL60 car present in Baku with upgrades is the car it should’ve had at the season-opening round from Bahrain.

It has introduced a new floor body, new rear wing flap trims alongside a low-downforce configuration rear wing.

In addition, the beam wing has seen the addition of new a element on the upper and lower part of the component.

Alpine, meanwhile, has also introduced a new floor as well as low-downforce front and rear wings. It has also listed revisions to the front and rear suspensions.

Alfa Romeo says it has arrived in Baku with a new configuration of the rear wing with “a shorter chord” to reduce drag, while the beam wing has seen a move from “a stacked configuration to a biplane one”. A revised front wing is also available to the team.

Aston Martin has introduced smaller upper elements on the rear wing to combat the drag at the high-speed Baku track.

Haas, too, has modified its rear wing to ensure straight-line efficiency at top speed, while Williams has made modifications to the beam wing and nose.

AlphaTauri has introduced a multitude of upgrades for the event, including modifications to the beam and rear wing in response to drag effects. 

The front wing has also been modified, while the engine bodywork exit has been altered to improve cooling performance.

Finally, at the rear corner of the car, new rear brake drum has an additional inlet to increase cooling, while there are also improvements to the drum vane cascade to increase downforce.