I assumed a lot of the end of session practice starts were on older tyres. The pit lane ones were more likely to be on fresh sets.

https://www.planetf1.com/features/f1-pr ... i-red-bull

Floor bargeboards are still there! edit,sorry thought these were from Australia already

ClassicLivery wrote: ↑

02 Mar 2026, 08:15

Floor bargeboards are still there! edit,sorry thought these were from Australia already

Yeah these are pictures from testing that I hadn't seen before. It appears that the first floor inlet tapers down and ends where the flat floor begins, and should create a pretty powerful vortex that runs along the edge of the "canoe" floor section. That big flat strake is clearly considered as the fifth floor inlet strake or "dagger" for regulatory purposes.

It appears that this design is enabled by the forward floor extension from RB's overhanging sidepod. Audi at least should be able to copy it pretty easily, not sure about the rest though.

Guys, kindly help with your aero expertise and let me know whether my interpretation of floor entry vortex generation is in the ballpark of how it's supposed to work :

venkyhere wrote: ↑

02 Mar 2026, 23:05

Guys, kindly help with your aero expertise and let me know whether my interpretation of floor entry vortex generation is in the ballpark of how it's supposed to work :

What are the yellow arrows interacting with the four daggers doing? Pretty sure that, from a side view, the dagger would appear triangular with the back edge fully attached to the face of the floor lip. No porosity there.

Brahmal wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 06:38

venkyhere wrote: ↑

02 Mar 2026, 23:05

Guys, kindly help with your aero expertise and let me know whether my interpretation of floor entry vortex generation is in the ballpark of how it's supposed to work :

What are the yellow arrows interacting with the four daggers doing? Pretty sure that, from a side view, the dagger would appear triangular with the back edge fully attached to the face of the floor lip. No porosity there.

It's unclear to me, hence my post. I don't know whether it's play of light or whether there is a hole sliced on the 'body' of the "dagger". In fact they look nothing like typical daggers do.

kindly refer to this post as well :

AR3-GP wrote: ↑

22 Feb 2026, 04:23

https://i.postimg.cc/P5NB1xwQ/20260220-084829.jpg

I don't think the vanes are porous

AR3-GP wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 08:25

I don't think the vanes are porous

https://i.postimg.cc/nLF7mFzz/image.png

Weren't there two different floors that were tried ? Clearly the top and bottom ones in your pic, are different (reference against the innermost vertical entry).

venkyhere wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 08:39

AR3-GP wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 08:25

I don't think the vanes are porous

https://i.postimg.cc/nLF7mFzz/image.png

Weren't there two different floors that were tried ? Clearly the top and bottom ones in your pic, are different (reference against the innermost vertical entry).

It's the same floor taken at different angles. I took those screenshots from day 3 evening session at T10. They are milliseconds apart.

AR3-GP wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 08:43

venkyhere wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 08:39

AR3-GP wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 08:25

I don't think the vanes are porous

https://i.postimg.cc/nLF7mFzz/image.png

Weren't there two different floors that were tried ? Clearly the top and bottom ones in your pic, are different (reference against the innermost vertical entry).

It's the same floor taken at different angles. I took those screenshots from day 3 evening session at T10. They are milliseconds apart.

I understand, and believe you. However, my brain is having a hard time 'projecting' a mental image of how the 'thing' in the close up pics in my post looks like the top-half pic (from the straighter angle) in your post. I know the 'tail' wont be seen from that angle, but the 'front rib' resembles a simple straight edge 'too perfectly' in the top-half pic.

venkyhere wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 07:05

It's unclear to me, hence my post. I don't know whether it's play of light or whether there is a hole sliced on the 'body' of the "dagger". In fact they look nothing like typical daggers do.

The bottom edges of the triangular daggers are curved quite dramatically, shaping the dagger like a cone-section. This creates some optical illusions from certain angles that make it quite confusing to look at, I agree. Some of the other cars don't have this curved edge and the triangular shape is much more apparent, but there's no fundamental difference. The only car that seems to be doing something truly unique is the Ferrari with their strange grid-fin arrangement that I still haven't seen a really sharp picture of.