Spanish GP: McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari reveal new looks
Friday 11 May 2018 11:52, UK
McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari have revealed radically different car upgrades for this weekend's Spanish GP.
The new looks debuted in Friday practice at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The gateway to the European leg of the F1 season, Barcelona traditionally hosts the first substantial round of car upgrades each year.
Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has described the RB14's new design as "pretty crazy".
Sky F1 analyst Mark Hughes tweeted: "Red Bull looks to have completed a massive upgrade, with re-sited radiators and reprofiled sidepods."
But the revised car suffered the worst possible debut when Ricciardo crashed out at the start of Practice One after losing control at Turn Four. However, team boss Christian Horner later clarified that Ricciardo had been running the car's old front-wing when he hit the track barriers.
"It's a reasonable update. It's a lot of detail, particularly in that barge board area," Horner added.
"If we get a couple of tenths out of it, that's what we're aiming for. It's evolution, every race we are trying to get some performance on there. Half a seconds are not easy to come by in this business."
McLaren have said that this weekend will effectively see their 'real' 2018 for the first time. The team made a late switch of engine supplier last year and consequentially struggled for reliability during winter testing.
The 'new' MCL33 made its first appearance on Friday with attention focused on a striking nose design.
The new look features three nose 'nostrils' with two grooves either side as well as elaborate skirting.
"It's a caped nose," said Sky F1's Ted Kravitz. "I don't know what we're going to call it because it's really a hybrid of a few different nose arrangements and front wings.
"It looks a bit like the Sauber from the front but then the cape behind it looks a bit like the Mercedes. But then the job it's actually doing is very similar to the Force India."
Ferrari, meanwhile, have become the first team to respond to a clarification from the FIA, the sport's governing body, that permitted fixed objects to be mounted on the Halo.
The world championship leaders have responded by attaching their car's mirrors to the Halo.
Will Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes make it back-to-back victories at the Circuit de Catalunya? Watch the Spanish GP exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 from May 11-13. Get Sky Sports F1.
