Technical analysis - Suzuka

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RENAULT, McLAREN LOOKING TO FEND OFF TYRE SQUIRT

Renault made a change to its floor at Suzuka, replacing the vane located ahead of the rear tyre with a longer, curved two-element deflector, the first part of which snugs the sidepod more tightly. Interestingly, Haas had gone the other way around in Singapore by merging its two winglets into a single element.

McLaren also tweaked the vane located ahead of the rear tyre: moving it slightly closer to the floor slots (compare yellow arrows on the top pictures) while also making it longer.

This vane serves to generate a high-energy airflow (represented by a yellow line) and direct it towards the inner face of the tyre in order to protect the diffuser from the turbulent air coming off the rotating rear wheels (also referred to as “tyre squirt”).

To simply things, one can say the ultimate goal is the same as with the blown diffusers seen in F1 before 2014 (seal the diffuser’s edges and keep it away from the dirty air), though the end result is not as potent as it used to be.