McLaren and Audi unleash major upgrade packages as Mercedes and Ferrari stand pat in Baku

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has become the stage for a wide-ranging development race, with a significant number of teams choosing the punishing walls and tricky layout of the Baku City Circuit to debut new parts — a bold decision for street-circuit debuts, where mistakes are costly and grid position is at a premium.

McLaren lead the frontrunners' charge

McLaren are the first of the frontrunners to introduce a wide range of upgrades this weekend, with several of the changes focusing on flow conditioning. The Woking squad's bodywork revisions include a revised sidepod inlet shape, an updated engine cover and coke line, an alternative sidepod, and a modification to the rear suspension fairings to enhance aerodynamic performance.

Those changes go hand-in-hand with a new floor edge design and diffuser layout, while the rear wing has also been adjusted to deploy the flap to a different position in Straight Mode — a change that causes a larger reduction in drag, a potentially valuable asset on Baku's lengthy main straight.

Finally, McLaren have altered the cooling louvre layout and position for maximum aerodynamic performance at various cooling levels, a track-specific upgrade tailored to the demands of the Baku City Circuit.

Red Bull and Racing Bulls refine their packages

Red Bull have taken a more subtle approach, making changes to the floor geometry and revising the sidepod with the aim of extracting more local load whilst maintaining flow stability. To blend the new sidepod into the existing bodywork, the team has also adjusted the cooling louvres, while the mirror assembly and halo have been altered to support downstream conditioning and supplement the local load increase.

Like their senior sister team, Racing Bulls have focused on flow conditioning, introducing a new front wing and brake duct. Those parts will work alongside changes to the front suspension to manage the airflow downstream and around the car, allowing the floor to perform effectively.

Audi go big in the midfield battle

With the midfield battle heating up, Audi have made sweeping changes to their challenger in the hope of closing the gap to their rivals — bringing a total of 14 upgraded parts to Baku. A completely new front wing and nose should deliver a better flow to the rest of the car, complemented by revised front suspension fairings.

An updated floor and bodywork complete the package, with the former producing a consistent load increase while the latter improves management of the downstream flow structures. The rear wing and rear suspension have also been adjusted to improve aerodynamic performance.

Williams target a Baku boost with new floor package

Williams opted for the Aston Martin strategy of waiting for a single round to introduce their upgrades, but Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were cautious of predicting any significant step forward, mindful of the pre-existing deficit to their competitors.

An updated floor bodywork assembly has been introduced to extract more performance both locally and across the main underfloor surfaces, with the tail geometry also revised to work with the new floor. Reprofiled surfaces have been applied to the front brake duct flow conditioning devices, while a number of adjustments have been made at the rear.

To suit the new onset flow, the surfaces on the rear suspension have been realigned to offer additional performance in the rear corner — geometry changes that unlocked a new flow field opportunity, enabling Williams to extract additional performance in this region by retuning the rear brake duct.

Cadillac build on brake cooling

Cadillac have a handful of upgrades of their own, beginning with an updated brake cooling inlet and exit duct profiles, which should increase the available brake cooling capacity whilst maintaining flow quality to the rear of the car. To remain compatible with those front-corner changes, the front suspension fairing surfaces have been revised, and the diffuser has been adjusted to increase local aerodynamic load.

The teams standing still

At the other end of the scale, several teams have chosen stability over development this weekend. Championship leaders Mercedes — comfortably sitting atop both the Drivers' and Teams' standings — have not submitted any upgrades in Baku, and Ferrari are similarly seeking to maximise their current package rather than bring new parts.

Alpine have submitted no updates, Aston Martin have no upgrades listed for the weekend, and Haas — who introduced key aero upgrades two rounds ago in Italy — have brought no further alterations.