Jun.8 (GMM) Top teams including Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes are struggling to implement the ‘F-duct’ concept in 2010.
McLaren pioneered the initially controversial technology with its current car the MP4-25, where the driver triggers an airflow through the rear wing that boosts top speeds on the straights.
Sauber, Williams and Force India have emulated the system, but at top teams Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, the implementation has been troubled.
Fernando Alonso blames the aero engineers’ focus on the technology as a reason for Ferrari falling behind in 2010, while Red Bull tested an F-duct in Turkey but will work on the system at its UK base while the race team is in Canada this weekend.
“We still need to work on our F-duct,” Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn said in an interview with Italy’s Autosprint magazine. “It is difficult to make it work well with the (rear) wing.”
Theoretically, given the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s long straights, teams with the leading Mercedes engine should be looking forward to Montreal.
“The (track) is all about top speed so we have worked very hard on this, especially as we know that we are not right at the top in that area,” admitted Michael Schumacher.
