new rules not harming innovation

[John S]

Teams push on in the search for performance
 
F1's new bodywork rules may have brought an end to a lot of the cars' overt aerodynamic detail, but it has not halted the innovation of the teams.

At the winter test tracks so far, plenty of clever features are on display, including Williams and Toyota's controversial rear diffuser designs.

Sam Michael, Williams’ Technical Director, said on Thursday he expects ‘50 percent of the grid’ to have honed-in on the idea by the time late March and the Australian Grand Prix roll around.

Also spotted recently is a new design of carbon-fibre front wheel covers on the 2009 McLaren.

Described as a sort of ‘snorkel’ by the German publication Auto Motor und Sport, the innovation is expected to be fitted to the MP4-24 in Australia. 
 
Meanwhile, on Williams' 2009-spec FW31 at the Grove factory on Thursday, reporters could not miss the addition of new fins on the cockpit.

"They're called 'skate fins' because they're similar to what you see on a surfboard," Michael said.

Source: GMM
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