GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => F1 Teams => Topic started by: John S on March 24, 2010, 06:59:13 PM
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A bit of a suprise that Sauber are the first to respond to the McLaren loophole, Newy and Brawn must have been catching up on sleep after a tough winter. :D
According to rumours from the Melbourne pitlane Today, Sauber is ready to test an initial version of the controversial McLaren-style knee-activated air inlet system.
The innovation, where air is allowed to pass through the car and onto the rear wing by the movement of the drivers' knee, was declared legal on McLaren's MP4-25 in Bahrain two weeks ago.
Basically, the system works by 'stalling' the efficiency of the downforce-producing rear wing, thereby producing more straight-line speed when the car is not cornering.
McLaren had spent some time pioneering the system, so it is a surprise that Sauber has so quickly readied a version for its Ferrari-powered C29.
It is believed the Swiss team has not decided whether to actually run the system in Melbourne this weekend. Asked by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, technical boss Willy Rampf said: "Ask me (about it) on Friday."
It is likely Mercedes will be among the next F1 teams to also introduce the inlet system.
"We had an idea that they (McLaren) were doing it -- we didn't understand how they were doing it," said team boss Ross Brawn. "But now we do."
UpdateF1.com, Today
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I agree John, didn't expect to see them so quick on the uptake. Maybe they had already developed something similar over the winter?
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I agree John, didn't expect to see them so quick on the uptake. Maybe they had already developed something similar over the winter?
Sounds most likely. They're the only ones who knew they were sandbagging at the tests. They knew they needed something else, while the 'big four' all thought they could win.
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I think they were waiting for confirmation, or otherwise that it's legal...