Bendy Renault and other stories

[Glen]

I don't want to take anything away from Renault, because I reckon this sort of thing is fair game anyway, but has anyone seen the pictures of the flexing Renault rear bodywork? The flat sections either side of the exhausts (inside rear wheels and leading to the rear wing) appear to lay down low at modest speeds and then get sucked up by several inches when on the straights. I guess it puts less air over the bottom element of the rear wing and gives less drag on the straights.

Clever stuff, but surely illegal as a moveable aerodynamic device, albeit one for which there is currently no test.

Also, there has been a little bit of talk (on BBs) about the amount of movement seen on front wings of various cars from this new low-line on-board camera. The scrutineering tests work by hanging weights on the wing end plates - the weights pull straight down with gravity, whereas drag acts in a more horizontal fashion and it seems that they are able to get a bit of movement that doesn't show up under the tests. Again, clever stuff but pushing it.