The most important car upgrades of the 2024 Formula 1 championship

The top four teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes, won at least one race and were the only teams to battle for victories during the season.

This was a very competitive season; McLaren secured the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998, setting a record of 26 years between constructors’ championships in F1.

For the first time in F1 world championship history, four teams (those mentioned above) all scored one-two finishes in a season.

Furthermore, seven different drivers won more than one grand prix in 2024 - a new record - and for only the 12th time has the constructors’ championship-winning team not contained the season’s world drivers’ champion.

Below is an in-depth analysis of the main changes brought to the track by the top teams over 2024.

Red Bull
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If the 2023 Red Bull RB19 was a deep evolution of the previous year’s RB18, the RB20 was a very different single-seater from the start, with a completely different cooling system and a very different bodywork shape with ‘cannons’ and ‘shark-shaped’ sidepod inlets.

It was an aggressive car design that proved to be fast right from the start of the season. The RB20 secured one-two finishes in three of the first four races.

Progress from teams was gradual over the year and it soon proved that the RB20 had a narrow development curve. It was getting difficult to add downforce to the car without compromising car behaviour.

At Suzuka and Imola, the first major updates arrived for Red Bull, but in the middle phase of the season, the development of the RB20 did not go according to technical director Pierre Wache’s plans.

The most significant update for Red Bull was a new engine cover, brought to Hungary. This engine cover did away with the ‘cooling cannons’ and was not intended for the low-speed track. Rather, this Red Bull development was intended for the high-speed challenges of Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, and Baku.

The team did not however produce a new rear wing suited to faster circuits such as those three and Las Vegas.

The key Red Bull F1 upgrades in 2024 were:

Additional cooling inlets at the cockpit sides and a vertical opening in the sidepods: Red Bull introduced a new profile in these areas for greater downforce efficiency, without a surplus increase in drag. The team also optimised airflow towards the bargeboards and bottom of the car.

A new front wing and bodywork in Hungary: A new taller and narrower design increased the aerodynamic efficiency of the nose and mainplane. Added to this change was a complete overhaul of the bodywork, removing the cannons (illustrated above).

Updates to the floor and diffuser between Baku and Las Vegas: Red Bull took full advantage of the margins offered by the regulations, introducing a more complex underfloor with redesigned aerodynamic channels to maximise ground effect efficiency. Between Baku and Las Vegas it introduced a new diffuser (Baku), new cutouts between the sidepods and engine cover (Austin), and new Venturi tunnel inlets (Las Vegas) to prepare for 2025. 

Ferrari
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The SF-24 represented a major but not overwhelming change in Ferrari’s car concept.

The Italian team started the 2024 championship without the inwash sidepods but retained pullrod rear suspension, carrying over at least some of the previous year’s car philosophy.

The car started well but needed an aggressive upgrade strategy to bring it up to the level of Red Bull’s RB20.

After changing much of the car at Imola, the team brought its most pivotal development of the season to Spain, with a new floor that changed the car’s balance, making it more challenging for the drivers.

The Italian team then had to bring in immediate updates to fix that package with another major evolution at Monza, its home race.

Ferrari's final phase was very positive and it managed to contend for the constructors' championship title with McLaren.

Ferrari’s key updates of 2024 were:

New sidepods and ailerons at Imola: The team adopted a different configuration of the sidepod inputs, as well as bringing updates to the ailerons. They were extremely tapered, improving airflow to the rear end.

Floor upgrade at Monza: Ferrari was able to find the correct path with the Monza updates, thanks to a new revised floor, for more downforce, without the bouncing that was plaguing it in previous races.

New front wings in Singapore and Austin: A new front wing arrived in Singapore that was very different with regards to the central flaps. This was further developed in Austin to be more flexible and give the team more of an advantage in fast corners.

McLaren

In 2024, McLaren continued its upward trend and clinched the constructors’ championship title.

That climb began in the beginning of 2023, when the Woking team began to develop its car and become a podium contender. In 2024, it was widely believed to be the best car on the grid for much of the season.

However, McLaren started 2024 behind Red Bull and Ferrari with a car that was largely the same as it was in late 2023. Its championship bid began in Miami when upgrades were brought to the car and a leap of half-a-second per race lap helped it contend with Red Bull for wins.

As summer came around, McLaren continued to develop its car continuously to make it an all-round contender.

The key F1 updates for McLaren in 2024 were:

The Miami upgrade: wings, sidepods, floor, suspension covers and more - a completely new car that went fast right away in Miami and got its championship bid underway.

Flexible wings: The MCL38's aerodynamic development was constant in the middle phase of the season. A new front wing in Austria and new bodywork in Monza helped its pace, but flexible wings stoked controversy. Controversy erupted in Azerbaijan over its rear wing as the DRS flap was found to be opening slightly on the straights - providing a small speed gain. It was declared non-compliant by the FIA and McLaren had to adapt its rear wings.

New sidepods in Austin: Austin was where numerous teams brought big updates and Mercedes went for a sidepod design that was a mix between the philosophies pursued by Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull. The vertical opening remained, the inlets were greatly narrowed, and the sidepod undercut was opened further. This development was almost certainly made to further develop the car for 2025.