Here's how many wind tunnel hours each F1 team was granted in 2024

Here’s how many wind tunnel hours each F1 team was granted in 2024. The hours and sessions that the FIA has assigned to each F1 team for the first six months of 2024.

Since the FIA introduced the budget cap into the regulations, all constructors can use their wind tunnels for a limited period. In this article, we will see how many wind tunnel hours each team has been granted for the first half of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

In Formula 1, extracting those extra tenths of performance can be crucial. However, the development of components must be targeted, with almost non-existent margins of error, to avoid compromising the car’s project. In fact, since the introduction of the maximum limit of wind tunnel hours, teams must be extremely efficient in the development phase.

Each team can use its own wind tunnel according to the number of hours and weekly sessions set by the FIA. The order is based on the constructor championship standings; 70% of the hours are allocated to the leading team, 115% to the last-placed team. The order is periodically reviewed: the first period is from January 1 to July 1, the second from July 1 to December 31: every six months.

Let’s see, in descending order, the hours and sessions that the FIA has assigned to each team for the first six months of 2024:

1. **Haas** – (115% – 1380 hours / 46 weekly sessions)
2. **Stake F1 Team** – (110% – 1320 hours / 44 weekly sessions)
3. **AlphaTauri** – (105% – 1260 hours / 42 weekly sessions)
4. **Williams** – (100% – 1200 hours / 40 weekly sessions)
5. **Alpine** – (95% – 1140 hours / 38 weekly sessions)
6. **Aston Martin** – (90% – 1080 hours / 36 weekly sessions)
7. **McLaren** – (85% – 1020 hours / 34 weekly sessions)
8. **Ferrari** – (80% – 960 hours / 32 weekly sessions)
9. **Mercedes** – (75% – 900 hours / 30 weekly sessions)
10. **Red Bull** – (70% – 840 hours / 28 weekly sessions)

**How many hours did the teams have in 2023?**
The percentages proposed in the list above are mostly related to the development of the 2024 car. Since the design of the cars started in 2023, analyzing data from the previous period can be more useful to understand which team will have a potentially better starting point, having had more time to work on it.

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From July 1 to December 31, 2023, Red Bull was able to use its wind tunnel for 63% of the hours (756) due to the penalty for budget cap infringement. Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari respectively had 75% (900), 80% (960), and 85% (1020) of the hours, followed by Alpine at 90% (1080) and McLaren at 95% (1140). Stake F1 Team (then Alfa Romeo) with 100% of the hours (1200) precedes Haas (105% – 1260), Williams (110% – 1320), and AlphaTauri (115% – 1380).

These data partly explain the significant evolution McLaren and AlphaTauri had in the final phase of the season compared to their rivals. Both teams are candidates for further progress in the upcoming season, starting in less than two months in Bahrain.