AeroJunkie

RBR's SLM set up
Thx to XPB
Inside the nose is a unit that both hydraulically pushes down the flaps & finely adjusts the flap angle, with a splined tool through the hole.
NB the rocker set-up is guesswork, there must a return spring too in case of hyd failure.
#F1 #F1tech @xavigazquez.bsky.social

How teams swap noses with Active Aero.
It varies by team, but most have hydraulic actuators in the nose, which takes a feed from the cars hyd pump.
The nose already has an electronics quick connector.
There will also be a hydraulic dry break coupling, which mates/seals as the nose is fitted
#F1

Tech journal - Australian Grand Prix Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren, Cadillac and Mercedes all covered

open.substack.com/pub/somersf1...

Small details on the Red Bull first seen in testing.
Some strakes added to the wakeboards, also notice the twist in the support beam.
On the diffuser wall a vertical vane, in a similar manner to Mercedes.
#F1 #F1tech
Pics @albertfabrega.bsky.social

#GR63 takes new PU components: ES, CEK, ANC
2026 #F1 PU regs
The PU is split up into components, with a limit per driver.
1st time over that limit its a 10 place grid penalty, then 5 for each one after.
For 2026 there's an extra unit of each, + Audi being new, get 1 extra.

McLaren and Ferrari lead Australian GP practice, but is Mercedes hiding pace? George Russell kept away from generating headline lap times, but his and Kimi Antonelli's race pace was eye-catching at Albert Park. Plus, Adrian Newey deflects Aston Martin's problems to Honda.

Pretty extraordinary comments from Adrian Newey on the Honda engine project in the Friday press conference.

Given they signed their engine deal in May 2023, all of it points to questions over Aston Martin's leadership and whether it was avoidable. #F1

Updates for the Aston Martin AMR26 in Australia Let’s be honest, it’s pretty much all doom and gloom in the Aston Martin - Honda camp at the moment, as the scale of the task faced by the pair becomes ever clearer.

open.substack.com/pub/somersf1...

Max Verstappen car damage 'enough to keep Red Bull busy' after F1 practice off Max Verstappen damaged his Red Bull in an off during FP2 at the Australian Grand Prix

The Ford PU continues to impress but it was not a perfect day for Red Bull Racing in Melbourne with car damage after an off for Max Verstappen. Paul Monaghan explains: www.crash.net/f1/news/1090...

Adrian Newey makes dire new revelation about Aston Martin F1 car batteries Aston Martin's Australian Grand Prix has just gotten worse as its battery problems persist on Friday

Aston Martin F1 boss boss Adrian Newey was again creating his own headlines today - this time by revealing that Honda Racing only has two batteries left, one for ALO, one for STR. And there are none in stock in Japan...: www.crash.net/f1/news/1090...

FP2 #F1 DATA ANALYSIS 📊
Was the case in the test, it’s happening again now: the QUICKEST laps were made with a LOWER top speed!

💡 Explanations:
-Ideal strat: deploying as much as possible as early as possible, then reduce electric energy
-The quicker a team is, the larger the incentive to sandbag

Battlefield 6: Pushing visual fidelity while optimizing for all hardware YouTube video by Graphics Programming Conference

Graphics Programming Conference 2025 presentation recordings are now online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRVL...

If you are at the #Ausgrandprix check in for Willem Toet's #F1 aero talk.
#F1tech #AustralianGP

Vulkan memory barriers and image layouts explained www.rastergrid.com/blog/gpu-tec...

Conference Registration | I3D 2026 ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games

The Registration for I3D 2026 is now open! Early bird prices are available until 17th of April, so make sure to register by then for the best price!

View the full details at: i3dsymposium.org/2026/registr...

#I3D2026

Ferrari’s rotating rear wing could cut drag by a further 7%, worth 5-8 km/h on fast #F1 tracks 💡

Rear-wing CdA (drag) drops by 0.010. But the effect propagates upstream:
• Rear tyres: –0.024 CdA (!!)
• Chassis: –0.014 CdA

CFD by Maya HTT shows every component sees unchanged or reduced drag

Graphics Programming weekly - Issue 430 - March 1st, 2026 www.jendrikillner.com/post/graphic...

Step 1 is now available in MicroGPT Visualized

microgpt.jtauber.com

Slow and unpredictable: The problems facing Aston Martin and how it can fix things Aston Martin had great expectations for the 2026 season, but pre-season testing has painted a bleak picture. Can F1 aero guru Adrian Newey turn things around?

Was Adrian Newey the no-brainer? The banker? The one that couldn't fail for Aston Martin?

They went into 2026 with high expectations, but pre-season testing showed just how brutal F1 can be if you have problems. #F1

With F-Ducts & active aero currently a topic.
Let's look at the original F-Duct. Introduced by McLaren in 2010, this is a RBR duct from my collection.
Its used a fluid switch tripped by the driver covering the control duct in the cockpit, to stall the rear wing for more top speed.
#F1 #F1tech

Aprilia in #MotoGP has developed an F-duct-like system to add speed on the straights. Operated by riders elbow to divert the hot radiator air flow, boosting top speed by a few kph.
Thx to @denkmit
#MotoGPtech
📸 @redbull.com

-Tyres (Front and Rear Corner) produce most of the drag. They also produce lift, like the chassis!
-The floor produces ~47% of the car's downforce in Straight Mode, and ~76% (!!) in Straight Mode
-The wake stays much closer to the car in Straight Mode

'Straight Mode' reduces drag by ~1/5, according to a CFD simulation I requested to Maya HTT !

Key points:
-Downforce is more affected (-31%) than drag (-21%)
-Rear wing drag reduces massively (-70%); next up is Front wing (-43%)
Read on 👇

Cover of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Volume 1029, dated 25 February 2026. It features a fluid dynamics visualization with intricate green wave patterns on a black background. The Cambridge University Press logo is visible at the bottom.

New Volume of Journal of Fluid Mechanics available on Cambridge Core https://cup.org/4scgoOf
New Volume = New Cover
📸 (A47) An experimental study investigating the inertial-wave field accompanying vortex rings translating through a rotating fluid Jackson and Thomas
doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2026.11199

Well, math terminology being what it is, something like this was bound to happen eventually.

(If you're curious about why these balls are so puny, the full talk is up on YouTube)

💡 Who launched best in Bahrain?
Median 0–200 km/h times from all starts in the final #F1 test!

-RUS quickest: 5.30s, nearly previous-gen pace!
-🟥LEC and🟧 PIA were right there
-RBPT-powered drivers were quick; Cadillac and Audi struggled ⚠️

ALL the data in the first comment 👇
Via JMP #YesJMPcan

Red Bull's Test2 update featured a revised floor leading edge and sidepod undercut.
The undercut helps DF at the rear.
The new inlet/4teeth create load at the front of the floor, with outwash under the floor edge and a clean flow under the rest of the floor.
It was all hidden in Test1
#F1 #F1tech

Want to learn more about #F1 batteries?
Gavin White of @boutenergy talks to @PeterDWindsor live today on YouTube at 10am (UK).
@F1tech
youtube.com/@peterwindso...

Spy photos of the #Aprilia I haven't seen before. Credit goes to แสน 8 โฟโต้
#MotoGP

My top 5 tech innovations in #F1 2026 on @tech_motorsport
#F1tech
motorsport.tech/formula-1/f1-t…

LENGTH OF 8th GEAR PER TEAM AND PU ⚙️

Rules allow max fuel flow starting from 10500rpm --> peak power around here as friction increases above that 💡

At 10500rpm, McL is travelling at just 288 km/h... Audi? 319km/h!
Possible implications of this 31km/h (10%!) difference:
[Read on 👇]