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Technical Update
Ferrari continue to make progress since their radical technical design changes at the start of the season. In Canada they went a step further forward and in someways back to a revised exhaust exit which is now much lower and similar to the other top teams, notably Mclaren. They have also adopted the upright fins on the front break ducts Red Bull also complied with the FIA ruling by changing the layout of the floor area in front of the rear wheel. No picture yet, but it is similar to those of other cars as on the example below
Practice sessions at Valencia have delivered strong performances from Force India who have been knocking on the door for a while now. Lotus too I feel are ready to bloom if thy can deliver more consistency from both drivers.
Hamilton became the eighth different winner in as many races in Montreal and the FIA ruled that the holes in front of the rear wheels on the Red Bull cars were not legal despite an earlier indication that they were OK.
The F1 technical regulations, like the UK tax rules are complex and open to interpretation . For the casual observer it is difficult to understand what all the fuss is about. However, the introduction of a winglet here and slit there are enough to clean up the overall air flow across the bodywork enough to gain a few 10ths, which in turn can be the difference between hero and zero.
The interest has switched to the rear of the cars were there is still scope to reduce the drag effect of the airflow around the wheels converting that drag to more effective use keeping the car glued to the track. This is a complex task particularly when the car is constantly changing direction and speed. Ferrari got it badly wrong at the start of the season, but seem to be quite literally back on track now. As for Red Bull they have also been told that their system for taking air through the brakes is doing more than cooling. It has been suggested that the airflow has an areo dynamic effect which is also illegal.
We are now off to Valencia. Will it be 9 different winners?
