Three out of the big four have arrived in Melbourne with new, medium-low downforce rear wing arrangements, as they all look to have the right setup for Albert Park.
And, whilst it will clearly be handy this weekend, it’s something that will not only be useful in Australia, with all of the teams tilted further towards lower downforce wing setups with this generation of car.
An extra arrow in the quiver for McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes
One of the more interesting aspects of this is that none of these teams really had a dedicated wing in this range last season, with each of them either making do with their low downforce option in combination with a different beam wing arrangement or modifying their medium downforce variants to suit the prevailing demands.
McLaren’s effort is the second offering from the same design family, as it has the V-shaped mainplane design that the Woking-based outfit introduced at the Brazilian Grand Prix last season and which they used during pre-season testing (lower of the two in the image above).
The new wing can be distinguished from the version that’s more on the medium downforce end of the spectrum by virtue of the elements taking up less of the allowable box region, with a more gradual taper from the centreline to the tip section of the mainplane.
The semi-detached tip section seen on the other wing in this family is also retained, with their rivals likely eyeing how the slot gap between it and the mainplane responds when the wing is loaded, given the behaviour seen in the limited rear-facing footage that was available during testing.
Despite their rivals also having lower downforce solutions on offer in Australia, McLaren still appear to be on the fence as to what configuration they’ll run during qualifying and race, with the team making comparisons with the new arrangement and their higher downforce offering during Friday’s Free Practice sessions.
Red Bull’s reluctance to develop a number of rear wing solutions during this regulation era appears to have changed this season, with the team adding a low-medium downforce option to their pool for the first race of the season.
And, whilst there’s no drastic departure in terms of the design language being used, it does mean that the mainplane and relative distribution of the upper flap have been reduced when compared with their medium downforce solution, which in the past may have resulted in them removing the Gurney and/or trimming the trailing edge of the flap to rebalance the wing and reduce downforce.
The change in shape and dimensions of the new wing is probably most noticeable at the endplate and mainplane juncture, with the arc completely overhauled to make those surfaces interact correctly (older specification, inset, arrowed)
Mercedes, like Red Bull, were more reluctant to have a wide-ranging suite of rear wing options over the last few seasons but have set their stall out early, with this new low-medium downforce option at their disposal in Australia.
It carries much the same DNA as their regular options but the mainplane design has been altered to incorporate a gentler spoon-shaped transition, rather than having the flattened middle portion that their regular designs utilise (inset, arrowed).
Meanwhile, whilst Ferrari don’t have a new rear wing on offer for the Australian Grand Prix, the solution being fielded this weekend is new for 2025, with the Scuderia having followed in McLaren’s footsteps, utilizing a V-shaped mainplane profile.
They’ve also re-organised the attachment for the tip section, resulting in a larger endplate cutout, as the surface is pulled down further over the mainplane above it.
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