Red Bull has brought a new front wing to Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix in order to comply with F1’s flexi-wing clampdown.
Team boss Christian Horner said the stricter tests being introduced this weekend are “essentially a new regulation”.
Red Bull explained: “in order to comply with the revisions to the 2025 F1 technical regulations applicable from the Spanish GP, the front wing geometry has been revised to gain stiffness at minimal weight cost and then iterated to pursue the load characteristics sought”.
Red Bull says it has revised the first and second elements of the front wing, with flap elements, tips, and the outboard tip adjusters changed versus the old wing.
Championship rival McLaren is the only team not to declare any changes in the FIA’s official car presentation submissions for this weekend’s race, but it has brought a modified front wing.
It doesn’t have to declare this change because teams only have to declare geometric changes. Plus, McLaren says it has already debuted its tougher front wing on Lando Norris’s car at Imola.
McLaren has beefed up the strength of its front wing with an extra support stay between the top two front wing elements, as the green highlight shows.
Mercedes hasn’t had to declare any geometric changes to its front wing either, while Ferrari has revised endplate and outboard tip rolls that are part of a package that it says “enhances aerodynamic load distribution across the wing” and complies with the new technical regulation.
Alpine hasn't declared a front wing change and it's already debuted its new wing during FP1 at Imola (old versus new shown below).
Elsewhere, Aston Martin, Haas, Racing Bulls and Williams have declared front wing changes with the specific purpose of adjusting to the stricter tests.
Aston Martin’s new front wing has revised tip detail between the front wing elements and the endplate that “enhances the flowfield around the outboard end of the wing, increasing load in that area”.
Racing Bulls has new mainplane elements with a lower central section, while Williams has a more backed-off rearward flap profile and revised endplate camber geometry that it hopes will improve the performance of the front brake duct and floor.
Teams who have declared geometric wing changes: Aston Martin, Haas, Ferrari, Racing Bulls, Red Bull, Sauber and Williams
Teams who haven't declared geometric wing changes: Alpine, Mercedes, McLaren
Other Barcelona changes
Ferrari
Ferrari also has a reprofiled rear wing with a redesigned outboard tip and roll on the top of the high downforce rear wing. That high downforce wing was carried over from 2024 and was used in Imola, but has been modified for this circuit’s demands.
Mercedes
Mercedes has parked the new suspension it debuted in Imola for the second consecutive weekend. That will go back to Mercedes’ factory and won’t return until it's improved.
It has made a floor edge change with an increased chord floor edge wing with additional vane elements - the aim being to add downforce.
There’s also reprofiled floor fences, and, like Ferrari, a reprofiled version of its high downforce wing for Barcelona.
Alpine
Alpine has made changes to its floor body and floor fences in an effort to generate more aerodynamic load.
Racing Bulls
Alongside its tougher, adapted front wing, Racing Bulls has a new front nose with a raised lower surface and lowered tip.
“The nose tip drops down to meet the new front wing sections, whilst the raised lower surface helps to increase the load generated by the centre section of the wing, which in turn modifies the downstream flow around the car,” is how Racing Bulls has described the update.
Williams has a revised cooling arrangement for brake cooling for Barcelona’s big braking demands.
There are also optional cooling louvres that “increase radiator flow, enhancing power unit cooling at the cost of downforce and drag. It serves as the maximum cooling set-up” that Williams says may be more useful later in the season.
Sauber
Alongside Sauber’s new front wing, it has made changes to the floor fence, outboard floor edge and diffuser, as well as debuted an updated engine cover design that complements the floor changes.
