The start of the 2019 Formula 1 season in Australia is just one week away, and the 20 cars taking the grid in Melboune next Sunday will have a very different look than they did in 2018. Mercedes technical director James Allison explained the biggest regulation changes for the new year in a very easy to understand YouTube walkthrough.
New regulations for 2019 have made it more difficult for teams to direct airflow away from their own cars in an attempt to make it easier for cars to remain closer together and improve on-track action. According to Allison, much of their offseason efforts have gone into figuring out how to best manage the airflow – from the front wing to the (drastically reduced) sidepods to the (considerably larger) rear wing – to give Mercedes an advantage on the field.
As Allison notes, Mercedes’ car is already looking significantly different than the one shown off in the video. The team made massive changes to its aerodynamic package throughout winter testing, and fans never really got a true indication of Mercedes’ pace against the field. Ferrari turned in the fastest laps of the Barcelona test, but we’ll hopefully be in for another close season-long battle between the top teams all season long.
