Big advantage for Mercedes: will this ensure final move to Red Bull?

Why F1 limits wind tunnel time for F1 teams

Since testing was abolished, Formula 1 has largely relied on wind tunnel testing and the computer program CFD. This allows parts on the car to be tested to your heart's content, but regulations have restricted this for several years now.

How much time are F1 teams allowed to spend in the wind tunnel?

Due to the coronavirus, the strings were tightened all the way. F1 teams were sitting on around 65 wind tunnel runs per week until 2020 but were only allowed 40 runs in 2021. In 2021, a scale was also attached to that to give smaller teams more time to catch up with the top teams. Per spot in the championship, a constructor was given 2.5 per cent more or less time in the wind tunnel at its disposal. The leader in the championship got 90 per cent of the 40 runs allowed. So 36 runs per week. The runner-up got 112.5 per cent. So 45 runs per week.

That scale was further adjusted for the 2022-2025 F1 season, with the differences per spot being as much as five per cent. As a result, the championship leader gets only 70 per cent (28 runs per week) and last in the championship get 115 per cent (46 runs per week).

Mercedes has an advantage in 2024

The change in a season takes place exactly halfway through the year. The new scaling takes effect on 1 July, and at that time the British Grand Prix had not yet been run. So the balance sheet was drawn up after the Austrian Grand Prix, although it made no difference to the constructors' standings.

For Red Bull Racing, nothing changes. The Austrians were at the top of the rankings at the end of 2023 and thus had the least amount of testing time. Halfway through 2024, Red Bull is still on top, so Max Verstappen's team is still only allowed to use 70% of the total runs.

Mercedes is the 'big winner' in this respect. The team finished narrowly above Ferrari in the constructors' standings in 2023 and, as number two, had only 75% of testing time. Because of its current fourth place in the championship standings, Mercedes gets an additional 10 per cent. A good time for the Germans, who have just started the upward trajectory.

F1 scaling for wind tunnel and CFD time from 1 July 2024

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy