2018 Presentations: A trend towards 2017 Ferrari side-pods and revisited T-Wings
As Haas and Williams are the first teams to reveal their VF-18 and FW41, the technical trend seems to be moving towards a new integration of the T-Wing and a reproduction of certain technical solutions imported from the 2017 Ferraris and Mercedes.
Two single-seaters have been unveiled to the public before the next week, when presentations of the other single-seaters are expected to follow one another. However, it is already possible to draw the first conclusions about the technical trends that seem to be emerging regarding the 2018 single-seaters.
Let’s start with the Haas VF-18. The American team made two strong technical choices, firstly with sidepods very similar to those used by Ferrari on their car last season. This is easily visible in the third photo below. The purpose of this maneuver is to achieve better aerodynamic performance and to cool this area.
Check out detail pics of the new Haas VF-18 showing some interesting new aero features.
AMuS gallery: https://t.co/xhXCwNcJqn pic.twitter.com/QRrOCPvp1h
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) 14 février 2018
The second trend launched by Haas is the return of the now-banned T-Wings, but in a different area of the car. Indeed, the 2018 regulations theoretically banned this appendage, but a loophole was found, as often happens with the engineers of different teams. This loophole is located in a small area between the rear of the sidepods and the rear wing. As you can see in the second photo above, the engineers managed to install this element in that spot overlooked by the regulations. The purpose of the T-Wing is to better direct air towards the rear wing for improved stability of the car.
Regarding the Williams FW41, there are three interesting things to note. First, there is a strong inspiration from last year’s Mercedes. You can see the presence of a kind of cape under the front of the car, just before the suspension. This element is particularly visible in the photo below. Introduced by Mercedes on their 2017 car, this cape is present to redirect air under the floor, thus improving aerodynamic performance. You can also notice in this photo the implementation of an S-Duct above the number for aerodynamic reasons as well.
Via @F1Racing_mag Cape, S-Duct pic.twitter.com/rIB3p7SvYd
— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsTech) 15 février 2018
Also, it can be observed that, like on the Haas, Williams has adopted side air intakes borrowed from Ferrari, with more aggressive and larger side deflectors than last year (see below).
Bargeboard teeth! Via @F1Racing_mag pic.twitter.com/ezrJI5DSuJ
— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsTech) 15 février 2018
Another common point, the T-Wing is in the same area as with Haas (see second photo):
High-res bird’s eye pic of the new Williams FW41 gives us a nice view on the s-duct, the bargeboard area, the new sidepod wings, the floor slots & the T-wings.
More pics in our AMuS gallery: https://t.co/7lazCwti3q pic.twitter.com/W23cBiwGt4
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) 16 février 2018
To conclude, both cars are as expected equipped with the Halo painted in the car’s colors without any additional aerodynamic elements observed for now.
