Audi has appeared at Formula 1's pre-season test in Bahrain with an interesting change of sidepod concept.
The team was one of the first to commit to an initial design specification for its R26, having had its car complete an initial shakedown at Barcelona in early January.
That version of the car ran through the first closed test at the same track at the end of the month, as Audi continued work at its factory on development parts that will likely come through up to the first race in Australia.
The first fruit of its efforts have now appeared with a change of design for the sidepods appearing on Wednesday morning in Bahrain as Gabriel Bortoleto began running.
The new sidepods mark a move away from the horizontal slatted inlet idea that appeared on Audi's launch spec version.
The inlets have been made smaller and more vertical – somewhat similar in the shape to the infamous and ultimately unsuccessful Mercedes 'zeropods' that it started the ground effect era with in 2022.
However, unlike that Mercedes, Audi has retained the sidepod bodywork.
This has been further refined from its original version though, with a more aggressively shaped upper surface that helps increase the downwash effect.
Audi has also appeared with a different frong wing design. As well as tweaks to the flap profiles, it features two large housings - although it is not clear if these are for the adjustment mechanism or are for measurement purposes.
