The limited practice opportunities offered on a sprint race weekend, with just one practice session before cars get locked into parc ferme conditions, allied to the tricky conditions at Losail, have clearly steered many teams away from wanting to waste time checking out developments.
Seven squads have brought no modifications to their 2023 challengers, with the three outfits that have only making minor tweaks.
Alpine A523 rear
Photo by: Jon Noble
Alpine has made three upgrades to the A523.
These are a taller diffuser sidewall cut-out in the tyre flank area, which brings a downforce gain – especially at low rear ride height settings.
The team also plans to test a revised orientation of the rear brake drum lower flick geometry to help reduce drag.
Alpine A523 side
Photo by: Jon Noble
There have also been revisions to the cooling louvres on the engine cover, which are being tested with an eye for the extreme requirements that are required at the Mexican Grand Prix later in the year.
The changes to the car come after a pretty hefty upgrade that the Enstone-based outfit brought to the Singapore Grand Prix last month.
Alfa Romeo C43 rear
Photo by: Jon Noble
At Alfa Romeothe team has introduced revised beam wing elements, plus a change to the lower part of the rear wing endplate.
Explaining the modifications in its pre-event submission, the Swiss-based squad said: “The upgrade to the beam wing and end plates is part of the upgrade package introduced over the last couple of events and is designed to work in conjunction with it, enhancing the aero flow throughout the bodywork of the car.”
AlphaTauri AT04 side detail
Photo by: Jon Noble
AlphaTauri’s changes revolve around its floor, with the forward part of the floor edge having been modified.
The tweaks help reduce the pressure on the edge of the floor and draw more flow through the fences, which should help improve downforce.
AlphaTauri also brought a major upgrade to its car in Singapore, which was aimed at both a downforce gain and improving on some of the car characteristics that its drivers have struggled with this year.
