{"id":763775,"date":"2026-06-27T02:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T02:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/763775\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T02:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T02:29:10","slug":"mark-hughes-no-more-teardrops-at-mercedes-as-f1-aero-innovation-is-effectively-banned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/763775\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Hughes: No more teardrops at Mercedes as F1 aero innovation is effectively banned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week\u2019s hot technical topic was Ferrari<\/a>\u2019s rear wheel rims. This week, on the eve of the Austrian Grand Prix, it\u2019s the Mercedes<\/a> diffuser, specifically how the team has been obliged to remove the extra teardrop-shaped blisters atop its diffuser which were introduced in Montreal<\/a>. This follows the feature being questioned by Ferrari<\/a> to the FIA.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very interesting topic which really shows the ingenuity of these two teams in particular. But to properly understand what\u2019s going on here, you need a bit of background.<\/p>\n

The bodywork of the car \u2013 ie all the non-mechanical surfaces \u2013 is tightly defined in the regulations by a series of dimensional boxes. So for example the diffuser can only be within a notional box, defining its positioning within the car and its height, width etc. There is a separate box for how far back any lower bodywork can extend \u2013 6cm behind the inboard end of the driveshaft (ie where the driveshaft goes into the differential). Conventionally the differential would sit on the rear axle line \u2013 but not necessarily. Because the placement of the mechanical masses also has dimension regulations to meet. In the case of the differential it can be within 6cm either side of the rear axle \u2013 so behind or in front but only by a maximum of 6cm. So hold that bit of regulation in your mind.<\/p>\n

Next, consider how far the lower bodywork can extend back in relation to where the diffuser\u2019s dimensional box is. If you\u2019ve mounted your differential on the rear axle line, your lower bodywork (\u2018lower\u2019 as defined by another dimensional box) can stretch back only to the same place as the diffuser. So you cannot add any more. But if you have mounted your differential as far back as permitted (ie 6cm behind the axle line), then 6cm behind the differential takes you to beyond the end of the diffuser \u2013 opening out a useful little area into which you can put additional bodywork. That is what Ferrari has done with its SF26.<\/p>\n

\"Ferrari<\/p>\n

Ferrari introduced its diffuser \u2018extensions\u2019 in F1 testing (highlighted, inset, in green), then added a redirection vane<\/p>\n

\n Giuseppe Cacace\/AFP via Getty\n <\/p>\n

What Ferrari was then able to do in that space was add a ramped piece of bodywork following the same ramp angle as the diffuser. The two were not joined physically, so the \u2018diffuser\u2019 was still of the legal dimension. But the airflow doesn\u2019t see dimensional boxes or legal definitions; all it sees is a great big diffuser. Ferrari took further advantage of that extra bit of bodywork by adding its exhaust-redirecting vane, increasing the flow to the rear wing underside.<\/p>\n

So it was a really clever bit of design and lateral thinking, though it has involved some very careful layouts of the angled driveshafts and associated CV joints.<\/p>\n

Mercedes \u2013 and everyone else \u2013 missed this loophole (though the Haas<\/a> and Cadillac<\/a> teams inherited it by dint of using Ferrari rear ends) and has mounted its differential on the axle line. But it sought to replicate the effect by way of teardrop-shaped blisters atop the diffuser roof. These create vortices which increase the speed of the airflow behind the diffuser exit, manipulating the air pressure there in a way which encourages the airflow to \u2018see\u2019 a bigger diffuser. This feature was introduced to the car in the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n

So, how do these blisters \u2013 which extend beyond the diffuser\u2019s dimensional box \u00a0\u2013 comply with the legal requirement? Because they are not physically connected to the diffuser, even though they initially appear to be. Close inspection reveals they are mounted on a thin metal strip which is attached further forward. These legality strips serve the same function as those used on the initial front wing flap of last year\u2019s Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Mercedes provided drawings to the FIA before introducing the feature but following Ferrari\u2019s questions the FIA has rethought its interpretation and instructed Mercedes (and Red Bull<\/a>) to make suitable changes to their diffusers for this weekend.<\/p>\n

How much lap time difference are we talking? Probably hundredths of a second.\u00a0 But hey, this is F1.<\/p>\n

Post your questions to Mark below.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t see the form? Click here<\/a><\/p>\n

Click to read more from Mark Hughes<\/a> and don\u2019t miss an episode by subscribing on your favourite platform or YouTube, where a video version accompanies the audio podcast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week\u2019s hot technical topic was Ferrari\u2019s rear wheel rims. This week, on the eve of the Austrian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,271841,576,577,1881,82],"class_list":["post-763775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-f1-aerodynamics","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-mercedes","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}