Mclaren's Rear Wing Causes Controversy

Controversy Over McLaren's Rear Wing

Many Formula One seasons start with technical controversies that developed during winter testing and 2010 has proven to be no different. In recent years there has been heated debate over flexible wings, flexible floors, exhaust outlets and diffusers. This season, McLaren’s innovative rear wing has caused a stir amongst other teams and Red Bull has formally complained directly to the FIA.

As first glance the MP4-25 appears to be nothing radical except for a fin on the engine cover that stretches back to the rear wing.

However, that’s the clever bit.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The rear wing is attached to the engine cover by a thin carbon fibre beam that starts at the airbox. This beam contains a duct that directs air from the intake above the driver’s head and through a slot in the upper element of the rear wing. The air doesn’t wash over the wing but actually runs through it and out the back. In theory this decreases the car’s aerodynamic drag at high speed.

Just like an aeroplane, the curved surface of the wing on an F1 car accelerates airflow and creates a low pressure zone. This results in a suction type effect called downforce (or ‘lift’ in the case of a plane). McLaren’s system feeds air into this low pressure zone when the car is moving at high speed and therefore reduces its effect, and consequently the downforce.

McLaren’s rear wing will only ‘stall’ at high speed which means the car is very fast in a straight line, but still corners with full aerodynamic grip.

Some of the finer details of the system are unclear. It probably isn’t safe to instantly lose all of the rear downforce at a certain speed so there might be some sort of pressure regulated valve in the duct that controls the airflow.

McLaren’s idea represents a new way of thinking about Formula One aerodynamics and should be applauded in this era of technical restriction. The impact of this innovation has apparently been seen in testing where the MP4-25 has regularly been fastest through the speed traps.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Red Bull Racing management have formally raised their concerns about the design with the FIA and are seeking clarification over its legality. Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, said “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'?”.

The FIA has responded to Red Bull’s comments by arranging a formal inspection of McLaren’s design when the cars arrive in Bahrain.

Martin Whitmarsh and his team are rightly confident their design will be passed as legal since they liaised with the FIA during the build process. It would be miscarriage of justice if the sport’s governing body changed their mind at this late stage and forced McLaren to alter the car immediately before the first practice session of 2010.

Like many other technical protests before it, this will be declared a non-event by the FIA.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

Once McLaren’s rear wing is declared legal we can expect the other teams to follow suit with similar designs. It should be a relatively simple concept to introduce to any car since, unlike a diffuser, the rear wing and engine cover have little impact on other parts of the chassis (such as suspension geometry and engine placement).

In time someone may expand on McLaren’s idea and use other methods of controlling airflow through a car to generate speed. Some sportscars use ducts to direct air through the bodywork so this might be the start of that concept in Formula One.

It’s great to see technical debates in grand prix racing because the sport is all about technology and innovative engineering.

If nothing else it gives boffins plenty to get excited about ahead of the first race in Bahrain.

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Last Comment Posted »

• I learnt more about this over the weekend and it turns out the system is controlled by the driver. There is a vent in the cockpit that Lewis or Jenson will open with their leg when they want the 'flush' the system with air and render it ineffective. Such a clever idea, and I'm glad it's legal.
  by MartyP
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