F1 Team's 2024 Wind Tunnel Time Allocations

Not all teams in F1 get the same opportunity when it comes to the development of their cars for the 2024 season. Here is how much time in the wind tunnel each F1 team gets.

Wind tunnels are used in aerodynamic research to observe air flow past solid objects. In F1, teams use wind tunnels to test scale models of their new car concepts.

By simulating airflow over their F1 cars, engineers can analyze the impact of newly introduced various surfaces and shapes on their cars.

Airflow plays a crucial role when it comes to F1 cars' handling and performance, mainly in the modern era of Formula 1. Allocation of time spent in wind tunnels directly impacts the F1 team's ability to develop new upgrades to their cars.

There is a cap put on how much each F1 team can spend in the wind tunnel during a particular season. To ensure the grid keeps converging, FIA (F1 regulatory body) decided to introduce uneven wind tunnel time allocation.

The team that finishes the last in the Championship a season before is the weakest and, therefore, gets the most time in a wind tunnel in order to have a higher chance of catching up with others.

On the other hand, the team that finished first during the previous season gets less time in the wind tunnel and has to work with their allocation more strategically.

The last team in the Constructor's Championship in 2023 - Haas got 64,2% more hours in the wind tunnel compared to the team that won the most recent season - Red Bull.

While wind tunnels play a great role in car development, having more time to test does not mean that Haas will be able to challenge Red Bull during the 2024 season.

Some standouts from the table below are McLaren and AlphaTauri teams, both of which showed great progress towards the end of the season and were faster compared to their final finishing position in the Championship.

These teams can pose a great threat to their rivals. Max Verstappen suggested McLaren might be the biggest threat to Red Bull with their development pace, and more time in the wind tunnel can only help the Papaya team.

See the table below for a more comprehensive overview of the wind tunnel allocation for the 2024 season. As explained above, it follows the reversed order of the 2023 Constructors' Championship results.