With the Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, journalists and reporters had the opportunity to see the display of cars in the pit lane before track action began at the 5.412 km Bahrain International Circuit located in Sakhir, allowing us to get a better view and more insights into the details of the new single-seaters for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Despite the flashy shapes of the engine covers and sidepods, the floor remains the central component in ground-effect Formula 1 cars, extracting a large portion of the aerodynamic performance, which means it remains a key area for engineers to focus on in their purist for more performance. Naturally, some details remain hidden to the external observer, as they are located under the car. However, the entrance section of the Venturi channels provides some indications of the changes made by the teams to the aerodynamic structure flowing under the car.
The arrangement of the Venturi channels’ entrances determines the distribution of flows and the generation of vortices under the floor. We have compared the Venturi channels of the top five teams from the previous season, aligning them with the specifications seen in the second part of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
First, let’s begin with Ferrari: the Maranello team has revolutionized the concept of the car, an aspect emphasized by the new body design and chassis reconstruction. However, the entrance of the Venturi channels appears similar to the 2023 version, already updated during the Suzuka Grand Prix weekend. The SF-24 continues to show an even distribution of distances between the side deflectors, with the innermost element acting as a barrier just below the chassis.
Source: formulapassion
Let’s move on to McLaren: the Woking team also enters the new Formula 1 season with a Venturi channel entry structure similar to that of late 2023. In McLaren’s case, however, the innermost deflector is slightly detached from the chassis, opening the door for increased air flow to be channeled to the rear diffuser. Team principal Andrea Stella explained how some projects initially planned for the start of the championship have actually been postponed, including the possibility of a new floor.
Source: formulapassion
Next up, Aston Martin: like Ferrari, the AMR24 maintains the innermost flow deflector close to the chassis, maximizing the distribution of flows in the outermost channels, to be expelled laterally to the floor. Compared to 2023, the roof’s trajectory in the entrance section changes, becoming more arched and less undulating. The second barrier from the outside is also retracted, fitting entirely below the channel.
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Source: formulapassion
Among the top teams, the world champions are the team that moves the innermost flow deflector farthest from the chassis. Red Bull’s goal is to widen the central channel as much as possible, to channel air directly to the rear diffuser. The same barrier looks different on the RB20 single-seater, now carved in the lower part, introducing an additional edge acting as a small vortex generator.
Source: formulapassion
Finally, let’s take a look at the Mercedes car, focusing on this particularly important area: we notice that the W15 is the car with the most unconventional design for the Venturi channels’ entry section. The roof declines sharply outward, with a revised trajectory compared to last season. The second and third flow deflectors, on the other hand, are very close to each other, creating a significant distance from the outer barrier and the innermost element, the latter hugging the chassis like in the case of Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Source: formulapassion
The second outermost deflector also extends in height above the Venturi channel, generating vortices and influencing flows even in the upper part of the floor. On the contrary, the third element has been lowered and smoothed compared to the 2023 specification. As seen for the side air intakes, the front wing, and the rear suspension, the Mercedes engineers continue to offer original interpretations in an attempt to close the gap from the top.
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