Bahrain F1 2022 testing: Latest technical images on Day 3

Mercedes W13 rear detail with sensors

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

A close-up of the kiel probe rake fitted to the rear of the Mercedes W13, which you’ll note has the fence shaped in order it doesn’t affect the downforce being produced too dramatically. The kiel probes are also oriented towards the flow direction.

Mercedes W13 cooling

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

As the Mercedes mechanic plumbs in a cooler to the sidepod we also get a nice view of the outer edge strake on the W13, which has been altered as part of the team's introduction of new parts at the second test.

Mercedes W13 detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes cut down the inner strake in their underfloor tunnels (arrow).

Red Bull Racing RB18 cooling

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

A close-up of the cooling louvres on the Red Bull RB18, with a panel added in the forward section to reduce the amount of cooling.

Williams FW44 side detail

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The entrance to the underfloor tunnels on the Williams FW44 with the inner strakes that peek out over the top of the floor’s leading edge, while the outermost edge strake is lower than some of the other ones we see deployed by rivals.

Front wings for the Alpine A522

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Different front wing specifications on offer to Alpine, with the main difference in the application of the Gurney flap on the trailing edge of the upper flap, with just a short section on the lower wing, while the upper one has an almost full-length Gurney on the adjustable section.

Williams FW44 front suspension detail

Photo by: Motorsport Images

An additional camera mounted to the camera pod on the nose of the Williams which can be altered to look at different parts of the front wing.

Williams FW44 front brake detail

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The Williams FW44 front brake duct and wheel wake deflector assembly which has some thermal stickers mounted on the drum to monitor temperatures.

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The outlet in the upper, outer corner of the Williams FW44’s sidepods is closed off, while some of the gills in the engine cover’s cooling panel are also blanked off too.

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The Red Bull RB18’s rear wing, the white dots scattered around the top flap and mainplane are used as reference points for flexion if monitored from the rearward facing cameras.

Mercedes W13 rear wind and diffuser detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Flo-viz daubed all over the beam wing on the Mercedes W13 as the team looks to gather some visual confirmation of how it’s performing.

Red Bull Racing RB18 side detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The more sculpted and shrink wrapped sidepods introduced by Red Bull during the final day of testing in Bahrain.

Ferrari F1-75 diffuser detail

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A look at the Ferrari F1-75’s rear end, including the beam wing and diffuser but also note the notched brake duct winglet, with teams able to have some design influence over this lower section.

AlphaTauri AT03 front brake detail

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A close-up of the lower brake deflector on the AlphaTauri AT03.

Red Bull Racing RB18 front wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Red Bull applied flo-viz paint to the central portion of the front wing for this run.

Mercedes W13 front wing detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The Mercedes W13 front wing with the upper flaps at a high angle of attack.

Red Bull Racing RB18 side detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

That flo-viz paint made its way down the car, as you’d expect, during the run.

Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A rear shot of the Alpine A522 showing off the beam wing, diffuser and rear brake duct winglets. However, also note the plethora of cooling outlets on the car, including the sidepod and engine cover gills, the rear cooling outlet cannon and the louvred outlet on the engine cover’s spine.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Overview of the new sidepod and floor layout on the Red Bull RB18, with its now even more tightly shrink-wrapped bodywork.

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75

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Interesting overview of the Ferrari F1-75 which shows how it is able to get some of the floor into close contact with the track surface through a combination of suspension travel and floor flex.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri AT03

Photo by: Motorsport Images

As a comparison we’ll take a look at the AlphaTauri AT03 which has a longer section of continuous floor on its edge.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Note the relationship between the edge of the floor and track surface on the McLaren, who has a similar layout on the edge of the floor to the Ferrari, albeit it introduced a new section on the second day of the test with strakes added in the scrolled section in the middle of the floor.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The edge of the floor on the Aston Martin AMR22 also sits low to the track ahead of the rear tyre.

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The Williams FW44 seems to have been able to run the edge of the rear section of the floor closer to the ground from the get-go.

Steering wheel from the Red Bull Racing RB18

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A look at the Red Bull RB18’s steering wheel design, with the various buttons, rotaries and switches that control the various power unit and chassis settings that the driver can make changes to.

Mechanics at work on the Red Bull Racing RB18

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A mechanic makes some changes to the Red Bull giving us a look at the saddle cooler arrangement above the power unit whilst the covers are off.

Ferrari F1-75 front brake detail

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A close-up of the front brake duct fence, inlet and suspension fairings on the Ferrari F1-75.

Front wings for the Alpine A522

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Underside shot of the Alpine A522’s front wing – the 2022 specification of front wings are much cleaner, without the strakes we’re used to seeing beneath them to help guide the airflow.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Flo-viz painted on the front suspension elements as the team looks for visual confirmation they’re performing as anticipated.

Ferrari F1-75 rear brake detail

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Rear brake layout on the Ferrari F1-75 without the drum attached, note the pipework that carries cool air to the caliper.

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear suspension detail

Photo by: Motorsport Images

A great view of the Red Bull RB18’s inboard rear suspension elements.

Red Bull Racing RB18 rear

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Flo-viz paint on the Red Bull RB18 rear suspension fairings and floor as the team checks to make sure they’re still performing as expected from an aerodynamic point of view.