Ferrari and Red Bull have asked the FIA to investigate McLaren's rear wing.
The unique design of the wing makes use of an additional air intake above the driver's head, with the air then being directed to inside the rear wing and exiting through a "blown slot"; the dark line on the image to the right.
This apparently makes the rear wing more effective resulting in an additional 10 kph straight line speed.
BMW Sauber used a similar concept last year although it's unclear whether they were investigated or even reported for this.
Red Bull's Christian Horner had this to say: "There's a bit of a fuss over McLaren's rear wing. They have a slot on it [that affects the air flow] and they can pick up a lot of straight-line speed. I think it will get resolved before the first race. We've asked the FIA for clarification although I think Ferrari are probably more excited than we are to be honest.
Basically, if you stall the wing you take all the drag off it and pick up straight-line speed. It's something that's been done quite a lot over the years but with the wing separators you're not supposed to do that.
Our question ultimately will be: 'Is it clever design or is it in breach of the regulations'? They must be very confident that it's legal. I would think it will be legal."
Hopefully it will be legal.
The last thing we need is another controversy at the start of the season.
The unique design of the wing makes use of an additional air intake above the driver's head, with the air then being directed to inside the rear wing and exiting through a "blown slot"; the dark line on the image to the right.
This apparently makes the rear wing more effective resulting in an additional 10 kph straight line speed.
BMW Sauber used a similar concept last year although it's unclear whether they were investigated or even reported for this.
Red Bull's Christian Horner had this to say: "There's a bit of a fuss over McLaren's rear wing. They have a slot on it [that affects the air flow] and they can pick up a lot of straight-line speed. I think it will get resolved before the first race. We've asked the FIA for clarification although I think Ferrari are probably more excited than we are to be honest.
Basically, if you stall the wing you take all the drag off it and pick up straight-line speed. It's something that's been done quite a lot over the years but with the wing separators you're not supposed to do that.
Our question ultimately will be: 'Is it clever design or is it in breach of the regulations'? They must be very confident that it's legal. I would think it will be legal."
Hopefully it will be legal.
The last thing we need is another controversy at the start of the season.