1. Teams have rolled up the edge of the floor in this region for some time now. But, in order that some of the airflow from the upper and lower side of the floor converge at different rates, Mercedes has added a series of ever decreasing wave sections for this year. This should help to mitigate some of the losses associated with the regulation changes that prevent the use of slots and fully enclosed holes in the floor.

2. Whilst the regulations call for the floor to taper back toward the rear tyre, Mercedes, like a number of teams, has opted to give up some of the available floor space and create an additional cutout. This creates a Z-shaped cutout whereby a section of the floor is returned to a parallel edge before tapering again ahead of the tyre. In Mercedes' case, the parallel section is quite short, if compared with the likes of Red Bull, for example.

3. Ahead of the rear tyre, Mercedes has a number of solutions, including a collection of outwardly angled fins that have been boxed in to try and enforce an aerodynamic effect. They have three strakes of varying shapes and lengths inboard of this which look to direct the flow between the edge of the diffuser and side of the tyre. Then, quite differently to everyone else on the grid, its floor is angled upward towards the trailing edge, where a Gurney flap has been applied to the underside of the floor.

4. Mercedes has gone to considerable effort to enlarge the size of this flow pathway into the coke bottle region, with the shape of the sidepods altered to raise the cooling outlet. Meanwhile, it has also reworked the shape of the floor in order that the floor descends beneath the gearbox and crash structure, further opening up space for the air to flow into.

The RB16B features a new rear suspension layout for 2021 that draws its inspiration from the arrangement used by Mercedes last season.

In both cases the primary reason behind the implementation is aerodynamic, as the teams look to position each of the suspension elements in more favourable positions.

Red Bull hasn’t been able to fully appropriate the Mercedes design, as that would have required more tokens than it had at its disposal. But it has still been able to make changes that will undoubtedly improve flow over the rear of the car.

The track rod position is the major difference for Red Bull (highlighted in blue). It has moved this to the front of its assembly and effectively flipped the wishbone over so that it can mount the rear leg as high and rearward as is possible.

Of course, it cannot be underestimated how much of a structural challenge this is. Whilst the optimum aerodynamic positions might give you extra performance, it’s only worthwhile if you’re not adding a substantial amount of weight to the car that would offset any gains.



The lower, rearmost suspension element on the Mercedes W11/12 is housed on the rear crash structure, rather than the gearbox carrier.

Red Bull was unable to go as far as Mercedes with its design as it would have needed more tokens to change the crash structure design too.