Bahrain Grand Prix Tech Updates
With the teams and cars revealing their ultimate performance in true race trim for the first time in Australia, the development war of 2019 has now really begun. Here’s what we spotted at the Bahrain GP.
Although this Ferrari front wheel assembly hasn’t changed since the Australian GP, some more detailed shots were taken at the Bahrain GP, allowing us to understand more accurately how Ferrari have manipulated the airflow through the wheel.

Air is ducted to flow across the width of the wheel and then exits through gaps in an outer ring. F1 teams want to maximise the amount of air flowing through the wheel hub to not only cool the brake assembly but also to manage the wake from the front wing. Once the air has flowed over the front wing, it has been ‘worked’ which means it is low velocity and so it becomes turbulent. To avoid this airflow reaching and affecting the efficiency of other aerodynamic devices downstream, teams flow air through the front wheel, which then helps to guide the wake from the front wing away from the car.  This is clearly evident in the front wheel assembly of the Ferrari SF90. Air is ducted through the front brake duct and is guided through an outlet and then travels across the width of the wheel (as shown by the blue arrows). The air then exits the wheel assembly through gaps in an outer ring. 
The outlet for the air from the brake duct can be seen clearer from this angle
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