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🔍 Tech Show: What does losing '20 points of downforce' really mean? Plus, McLaren's new suspension analysed
🕑 Added 2025-06-19 14:53:20 +0000 UTCOn the latest episode of The Race F1 Tech Show, Edd Straw and former F1 technical director Gary Anderson discuss what losing '20 points of downforce' really means, after Lewis Hamilton suffered that fate in Canada, when his Ferrari collided with an unfortunate marmot.
There's also chat about the revised suspension geometry on Lando Norris's McLaren in Montreal, including what the team hope to accomplish with the change, and why Norris's team-mate Oscar Piastri didn't (and may not ever) run it.
And finally, in the regular 'Ask Gary' section, our tech chief answers questions on tyre warm up, the increasing complexity of aero shapes, and the idea of forcing teams to reveal design secrets...
Got a question for Gary? Send it to podcasts@the-race.com or leave it in the comments below.
Comments
Chris M
Question: In Austria, where I was lucky enough to have a great view of the track from the turn 3 grandstand, we saw many drivers using the DRS not just as an overtaking tool, but also as a general performance boost to cling on to quicker cars. My question relates to using the DRS to improve overall lap time by optimising ERS regen while in the DRS of another car. Is it possible for a driver to manually clip their power unit early and start harvesting as they get closer to the car ahead, sacrificing the overtaking opportunity but utilising the reduced drag in addition to the slipstream effect to top up their battery significantly more than they do on a normal lap? Is this how Fernando clung on to Lawson for such a long time? Is it something that we can expect to see at many other circuits?
Chris M
Amazing insight as always 👏
