F1 teams brace for high downforce and heat with Hungarian GP revisions

Red Bull, Racing Bulls, and Aston Martin are the only Formula 1 teams to register updates for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as development of the 2025-spec cars slows down ahead of the summer break. 

Most of the updates submitted to the FIA hinged on the specific demands of the Hungaroring circuit, which features corners in the slow-to-medium speed range and thus requires higher levels of downforce than most venues on the F1 calendar. 

Red Bull has introduced a new upper front wing element with a longer chord (chord length being the distance between leading edge and trailing edge, or front to back) to add easy load into the front end of the car. The team will already have a higher-downforce rear wing that it can balance the added front-end load with.  

The team has also opened up the brake cooling ducts at the front end, in anticipation of higher predicted brake temperatures around the Hungaroring circuit.  

Aston Martin has done likewise, producing a “more aggressive design” for its front wing flap that will slot into the front wing that the team introduced at the Belgian Grand Prix. 

The other outfits will optimise their existing wings, likely exploring a downforce range starting from their Monaco packages and then trimming back as required. 

Racing Bulls did not register a front wing modification, but instead revised surfaces around the front brake drums to optimise the flow in this particular area.  

Furthermore, the Italian squad produced new panels for its engine cover cooling. Given the lower speeds expected throughout the lap at the Hungaroring, the expected mass flow rate of air passing through the car to keep critical components cool is reduced. 

By opening up the cooling louvres, the team will be able to better pull excess heat out of the engine bay. Temperatures on Saturday are expected to surpass 30C, ensuring that most teams will run with their widest cooling panels.  

Mercedes, meanwhile, is rolling back on the suspension package it initially introduced at Imola; the team reverted to its initial suspension for Monaco and Barcelona, before switching back to the new set-up in Canada.