Tech insight - what was hot in Hungary

We may be rapidly approaching the summer shutdown, with teams increasingly focused on 2017 development, but that doesn't mean there weren't significant changes to be seen on cars over the Hungarian weekend...

Red Bull RB12 - monkey seat

For the first time this year, the Hungarian round saw Red Bull introduce a monkey seat to their rear wing set-up. Initially only Daniel Ricciardo ran it, while Max Verstappen sampled the revised endplates seen here with upward strakes at the rear. Then from Saturday both drivers opted for this new assembly, combining both the monkey seat and the updated endplates.

Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid - optimized cooling

Along with Malaysia, Hungary is usually one of the hottest races of the year, hence Mercedes’ decision to maximize their car’s cooling for the Hungaroring. Here we can see how they increased the size and height of these openings - complete with bulged fairings - on top of the sidepods beside the cockpit.

Ferrari SF16-H - rear diffuser updates

In their bid to close the gap to Mercedes - and indeed stay in touch with Red Bull - Ferrari brought this new rear diffuser configuration to Budapest, adding new solutions to the now standard flap cascade (inset) which they introduced in Austin last year. Note the new long and angled fin (arrows), designed to create vortices in this delicate area of airflow.