While Spa-Francorchamps has a demanding middle sector, its long straights mean Formula 1 teams need to bring low-downforce solutions.
However, getting the right balance of downforce and drag is more complicated with the current generation of cars, with teams needing to weigh up the impact of beam wing and main plane configurations.
Throw into the mix too the unpredictable weather that is a hallmark of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, and it ensures plenty of headaches for engineers in finding the best approach.
Ferrari brought a new rear wing specification to Spa that took a trip down memory lane. The mainplane and upper flap are similar to the ones used last season, with much less of the available box region allowed within the regulations used.
The biggest change from last season is the switch in tip section layout, as it has incorporated the semi-detached layout used on its other wings this season (top inset), rather than the top mounted and rolled over solution used last season (bottom inset).
This alteration coincides with a change in overall shape for the tip section, which is now flattened-out by comparison, whilst the endplate cutout and mainplane have also been optimised to improve flow conditions.
A semi-circular notch is also present in the central section of the upper flap (red arrow), just as it was with the wing used in 2023.
The trailing-edge notch isn’t a new feature in F1, although there’s traditionally more of a case for a V-shaped solution, with multiple teams even using them during this current rules era.
McLaren’s latest low-downforce variant includes one of these V-shaped notches to match the shorter chord upper flap in use. This replaces the semi-circular type used with some of its other wing specifications.
There was also a new semi-detached tip section design employed too, with the section rolled over in order that it works harmoniously with the squarer mainplane and endplate radius. The cutout thereafter has also been optimised.
There were no new rear wing specifications available for Red Bull in Belgium, but that didn’t stop the team from trying out a number of different solutions in an effort to find the right balance for its drivers.
The most interesting of these was mounted on Max Verstappen’s RB20 during FP2, as the Dutchman experimented with an upper flap that had scallops trimmed from the trailing edge and a contoured Gurney flap applied across the adjusted span.
Meanwhile, the team had already been seen using the regular wing without a Gurney applied to the rear edge of the wing, in order to boost its straightline speed, at the expense of some poise through the trickier second sector.
In the end, given the conditions that the teams were expected to face during qualifying, Red Bull opted to add the Gurney flap to the trailing edge of both cars, although Verstappen’s was modified to reduce the height of the right-angled appendage when compared with the full flap run by Sergio Perez.
Mercedes also tried a few different rear wing specifications during free practice but decided to run it back to a solution last used in Saudi Arabia.
However, the semi-circular notch seen in the centre of the wing for Jeddah was discarded, with a full-height flap across the entire span favoured instead.
The updates that Mercedes had for the Belgian GP included a new floor, diffuser and halo fairing, all of which were installed on the W15 on Friday but got rolled back to their previous specifications for qualifying and the race.
The parts will make a return in Zandvoort though, as the team identified issues with its mechanical set-up that had pushed the car in the wrong direction.
The new floor includes changes to the roof volume. This is most noticeable around the SIS blister, which has changed shape when comparing the two solutions side by side, while the edge wing’s forward section looks to take advantage of the revised geometries ahead.
There’s clearly some influence from Red Bull here, along with the other teams that have since followed suit.
The forward section of the edge wing is stacked on top of a cutout in the floor that combines to create a winglet-style section before the scrolled and straked portion of the edge wing takes over.
The diffuser volume has also been altered, with the ramped rear section now more contoured than before.
The team opted to remove its Halo’s boomerang winglets on Friday, placing small winglets on the side of the structure instead, before returning to its usual specification from Saturday onwards.
