© F1i
WINGLETS GALORE
At the rear, the Force India aerodynamicists reworked the rear wing’s upper flap, slightly curved at its centre (compare the yellow arrows). A mini T-wing was added to the end of the engine cover, while a winglet was attached to the pylon of the flap over the muffler. Less effective than the monkey seat (now forbidden), it helps to maintain the flow of air hugging the main plane of the wing, while at the same time generating a little downforce.
Although the evolution is working as expected, it did not bring the expected performance gain (13th and 15th fastest in qualifying). Probably because the settings of the car must be adapted accordingly, which takes time, according to Technical Director Andrew Green:
“We just need to set the car up differently now from where we migrated to in Barcelona. The drivers can attack the corners harder basically, which is what we were hoping they were going to say. It’s changed the way the car works, changed the way it works the tyres, so we’re having to go through that loop again to optimise things.”
