2025 F1 Saudi Arabia: all Jeddah team upgrades explained

The FIA has published the technical and summary documents of all the updates brought by the teams to Jeddah for the fifth round of the Formula 1 season.

To tackle the high speeds and long straights of the Jeddah circuit, most teams introduced updates aimed at reducing drag and improving aerodynamic balance. The common thread among these interventions is the use of low-downforce configurations, with particular focus on the rear wing and, consequently, the front wing.

Many teams – including Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Haas, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, Sauber, and Aston Martin – opted for:

A less loaded rear wing, often achieved through shorter flaps, reduced camber, and lower incidence;

A simpler or lighter beam wing, designed to further reduce aerodynamic resistance while maintaining good stability;

An adapted front wing, with less aggressive profiles to compensate for the reduced rear load and ensure proper balance;

In some cases, interventions on the floor and rear corner to improve flow conditioning and increase overall efficiency.

Overall, all teams seem to have moved in the same direction: reduce drag, maintain stability, and optimize the aerodynamic package to meet the specific demands of a high-speed circuit like Jeddah. Here are all the changes made to the new single-seaters.

McLaren

McLaren introduced two aerodynamic updates for the Saudi Arabian GP, both focused on improving flow conditioning. The diffuser has been reprofiled to optimize the rear-end airflow, while a new configuration of the rear brake duct fins has enhanced local efficiency in the rear corner area. Both interventions aim to increase overall aerodynamic performance.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Rear Wing	Performance – Drag Reduction	Upper flap element with lower camber and shorter chord	Tailored to the aerodynamic characteristics of the Jeddah circuit, this solution expands the available rear wing base load levels, offering greater granularity in selection.
Rear Wing	Performance – Drag Reduction	Lightened upper rear wing	This configuration, reused from low/medium load events last season, offers a more extensive step than just the flap and can be combined with various configurations.
Beam Wing	Performance – Drag Reduction	Lightened single lower element	The lower beam wing, also reused, provides an additional drag reduction option and can be paired with different upper rear wing configurations.

Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari HP focused on three updates for the Saudi Arabian GP aimed at reducing drag, adapting setups already tested in low- and medium-load events. The first change involves a new, shorter, and less curved upper rear wing flap, designed to allow finer aerodynamic load adjustment. Added to this is a lightened version of the rear wing already used last season, ideal for a more extreme drag reduction option. Lastly, the single-element beam wing, also lightened, enables additional low-downforce configurations, offering flexibility depending on the demands of the Jeddah track.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Floor Fences	Performance – Flow Optimization	Redistribution of profiles and fence camber	Not tied to a specific event: this floor package updates the front area and fences to reduce downstream losses and improve airflow quality.
Floor Body	Performance – Flow Optimization	Redefined front edge and enlarged tunnel	The new shape of the central section (boat) and tunnel expansion were optimized to reduce losses, enhancing edge floor load and vortex generation toward the diffuser.
Floor Edge	Performance – Flow Optimization	Extension of the front edge wing and new profiling	The floor edge has been redefined to optimize lateral aerodynamic load and vortex formation, improving diffuser performance.
Diffuser	Performance – Flow Optimization	Redesigned diffuser expansion	The diffuser has been updated to better manage flow from the floor, increasing air extraction and rear aerodynamic load.
Rear Wing	Performance – Local Load	Winglet updates on pylons	Like the floor, this update is not tied to a specific event and targets a small improvement in overall aerodynamic efficiency.

Red Bull
For the Saudi Arabian GP, Red Bull introduced two technical updates. The first concerns the engine cover, with a larger central outlet to improve cooling, necessary due to the high temperatures expected in Jeddah. The second update affects the beam wing, which has been lightened to reduce aerodynamic load and optimize the downforce/drag balance, a key factor on a fast track like this.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Coke/Engine Cover	Reliability	Enlarged central outlet	The needs of the Jeddah circuit, combined with the expected high temperatures, require a wider top body to dissipate the heat needed for cooling.
Beam Wing	Performance – Local Load	Reduced chord and camber on the lower part of the beam wing	A targeted intervention to reduce aerodynamic load at a certain speed, meeting the lift/drag requirements of this circuit.

Mercedes
No updates.

Aston Martin
For the Saudi Arabian GP, Aston Martin introduced a new rear wing with a less loaded flap, designed to reduce drag and increase speed on Jeddah’s long straights. The update, compatible with existing assemblies, is part of the standard choices for low-downforce circuits.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Rear Wing	Circuit-specific – Drag Range	Less aggressive rear wing flap to fit existing assembly	Part of standard development to provide a lower-load wing and therefore less drag, adapting to the characteristics of this circuit.

Alpine
No updates.

Haas
The MoneyGram Haas team introduced aerodynamic changes specific to the Jeddah circuit, aiming to reduce drag while maintaining the car’s overall balance. At the rear, two variants of the rear wing derived from the VF24 will be used, both featuring raised profiles and reduced camber to lower load and drag. Simultaneously, the front wing was adapted with a less loaded flap to maintain balance and aerodynamic coherence, aligning with the needs of the high-speed Saudi circuit with its long straights.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Rear Wing	Circuit-specific – Drag	Decambered rear wing assemblies	Two VF24-derived rear wings will be available, both with reduced drag and load, achieved by raising and decambering the wing profiles.
Front Wing	Circuit-specific – Balance	Lower drag levels require a less loaded front wing flap	To maintain proper balance with the new lighter rear wings, a less powerful front flap is used.

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls prepared an aerodynamic package for the Saudi Arabian GP focused on drag reduction and balancing the car for Jeddah’s high speeds. The front wing was modified by shortening the flap chord, thus reducing the generated load and adapting to a rear end with lower downforce. The rear wing was also optimized by reducing camber and incidence, using a less curved upper profile and a raised leading edge. Finally, the beam wing was revised with reduced incidence on its lower element to further improve overall aerodynamic efficiency.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Front Wing	Circuit-specific – Balance	Shortened front flap chord	Shortening the flap chord reduces front wing load at a given angle, allowing the car to be balanced with the lower rear wing levels planned for this track.
Rear Wing	Circuit-specific – Drag	Reduced camber and incidence of wing elements	An effective reduction in drag and downforce is achieved by decambering the upper wing and raising the leading edge – ideal for optimizing lap time in Jeddah.
Beam Wing	Circuit-specific – Drag	Reduced chord and incidence of lower element	Drag reduction is further improved by reducing the load generated by the beam wing’s lower element.

Williams
No updates.

Stake F1
The Stake F1 KICK Sauber team brought a comprehensive technical package to tackle the Jeddah circuit effectively. The most significant intervention concerns drag and balance management: the front wing was “lightened” with a low-load flap to compensate for a new low-drag rear wing. In parallel, modifications were made to the car’s floor to optimize flow in the rear area and generate downforce more efficiently. Lastly, the beam wing and rear wing endplates were jointly redesigned to enhance overall aerodynamic efficiency, with a focus on the demands of a high-speed track like the Saudi one.

Component	Motivation	Differences	Description
Front Wing	Circuit-specific – Balance	Low-load front flap design	The smaller front flap reduces the load generated by the front wing, helping to rebalance the new low-drag rear wing introduced for this circuit.
Floor Body	Performance – Local Load	Changes to the central floor geometry	This modification aims to improve flow characteristics around the rear floor area for a more efficient downforce gain.
Beam Wing	Circuit-specific – Drag	New design of beam wing and rear wing endplates	Combined redesign of beam wing and rear wing endplates to increase overall efficiency at low load levels.
Rear Wing Endplate	Circuit-specific – Drag	New design of beam wing and rear wing endplates	Combined redesign of beam wing and rear wing endplates to increase overall efficiency at low load levels.
Rear Wing	Circuit-specific – Drag	Low-drag rear wing assembly	This updated version of the low-drag rear wing efficiently reduces load. The main plane can be combined with various flaps to adjust load and resistance.