The Abu Dhabi weekend is the final chance for teams to see the cars run on track before the long winter break leading up to the new Formula One season. The trip to the Middle East thus becomes a great opportunity to test the latest aerodynamic solutions with the goal of collecting as much information as possible for possible updates and new innovations that will be seen on the 2023 projects.
This process also includes the study of changes to the technical regulations for the coming year, above all the raising of the minimum section of the diffuser and the raising by 15 mm of the external edge of the floor, which are measures imposed by the FIA to reduce porpoising in 2023.
McLaren was the one who seized the opportunity with the most important updates. The Woking team had already demonstrated in the past that it has greater foresight than its competitors, trying out solutions in advance that comply with the successive regulation changes. It was free practice for the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix, for example, when the British team was the first to test a simplified and narrower surface at the rear on track, in anticipation of the structure to which all single-seaters would have had to comply in 2021. Two years later, in Abu Dhabi, McLaren is once again testing a floor suitable for the new 2023 rules.
It can be seen how the outer edge of the underbody of the MCL36 has been raised, replacing the current side mini-diffuser. It is interesting to note how the 15 mm increase imposed on the floors of the 2023 cars forces the teams to also review the lateral extraction process of the flows from the Venturi channel, which is fundamental for generating load at the center of the car.
Immediately behind this area, the Woking team has also carved a corrugated flap similar to those seen on Red Bull and Alpine.
However, McLaren was not the only team to conduct experiments for 2023 at Yas Marina today.
Scuderia Ferrari took advantage of the first free practice session to test a modified floor with Robert Shwartzman compared to the version in use up to San Paolo. The updated specification differs from the original one for a slight rise of the edge in front of the rear wheels, in search of a better efficiency at medium-high speed. However, the experiment was self-contained and the new floor will not be used in the race, but it still allowed the Maranello team to carry out one last test on the track before deciding on the final project version for the 2023 F1 car.
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