Formula One's 2024 launch season is already underway, as is the hunt by rival teams and media to identify these critical upgrades and breakthroughs. Although Haas' VF-24 unveiling lacked creativity due to the usage of virtual graphics, other nine teams are expected to display more in the next two weeks.

The crucial part is knowing where to search. That's why The Race has identified the main places to look for when the new vehicles emerge.

Underfloor Height.

An F1 car's major downforce generator is its strong ground effect venturi tunnels located in the underfloor. One of the main reasons Red Bull is so powerful is that it features a very effective underfloor that can generate massive quantities of downforce while avoiding bouncing issues.

Whenever we received a peek of the Red Bull's underfloor detail last year, most notably when Sergio Perez crashed in qualifying in Monaco and the RB19 was taken off the track, the degree of detail in what you might term the underfloor topography was impressive.

Rather than having the venturi tunnels at the lowest possible height, which may provide the maximum downforce, the floor's top surface varies. This higher floor ceiling, together with the suspension characteristics, guaranteed that the downforce created was constant and unaffected by the possibility of initiating porpoising.

This won't be clear until we see some stealthy spy images, but teams will have worked hard to learn how to achieve equivalent mastery of underfloor design. 

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Sidepods

The way the sidepods interface with the floor margins and underfloor is critical in this generation of vehicles. It is expected that those who have not yet adopted the Red Bull-style 'downwash' sidepod design will do so. The phrase "downwash" refers to sweeping wind downhill via a ramp.

Some did this simply by using a slope form, such as Red Bull. However, some, such as Alpine, had a more distinct channel. Ferrari, in particular, will be an interesting case study since it began to transition away from its scalloped sidepod form last year and plans to make a larger change in 2024.

However, there is another, more essential sidepod design trend in which we may see some variety. This is how the sidepods are packed to maximize airflow around the side.

To do this, Red Bull has pioneered the concept of increasing the sidepod intake to maximize undercut. This is critical because the airflow around the sidepods and how it interacts with the floor margins is critical not just for downforce production, but also for vehicle consistency.

The sidepods used in McLaren's Austrian Grand Prix upgrade package last year demonstrate this. The progression is also evident in the two upgrades Red Bull made to their sidepods in 2023 (seen below), each of which expanded the cooling intake wider and shallower.

Chassis Shape

Last year, Red Bull's chassis was more V-shaped than the others. In 2023, the front of the chassis became more V-shaped, changing from a somewhat rounded appearance in 2022.

This is important because it increases volume in a critical location of the underfloor while also coordinating with the way airflow is controlled off the front tire and front wings.

There's a possibility that others will follow in this direction. 

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Cockpit Position

While the driver's position in the vehicle may seem to be the same at first sight, the distance back they sat varied last year due to the positioning of the cockpit opening.

Lewis Hamilton's criticisms about cockpit placement earlier in the season made headlines. He thought he was seated too far forward, which contributed to his lack of faith in the Mercedes' rear-end performance.

We're just talking about being 20 to 25 centimeters more forward than Max Verstappen was in the Red Bull, but it can make a difference. We should anticipate some variance here, but Mercedes is the team to watch attentively.

That does not necessarily imply that Mercedes will make a change. According to technical director James Allison, the first-order difficulty was the car's inherent rear instability, which caused him to describe it as truculent.

However, since the cockpit position was largely determined by how the vehicle was intended to support the zero-sidepod concept, which has since been scrapped, modifying it may be a possibility. 

Unexpected Innovation

What that might be, we don’t know - but we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any design surprises. As Mercedes technical director James Allison said when The Race asked him recently about design trends, “most people will be iterating down a similar avenue”. And that avenue is likely to be the one Red Bull has blazed a trail down.

However, Allison also stressed “it doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for innovation at all”.

That’s likely to be in the small details and might take some effort to spot, but there’s always the chance of some new idea cropping up on the new cars even if they are hidden in the launch versions.

New innovations will be a reminder that this process is not simply a case of trying to copy the direction set to astonishing effect by Red Bull - especially given it could also spring a surprise despite creating what’s described as an evolutionary car. 

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