• Australian Grand Prix

Sauber adds McLaren-style F-duct to car

ESPNF1 Staff
March 25, 2010 « F1 has no cause for concern - Schumacher | »
Sauber has added an F-duct above the C29's sidepod to channel air to the rear wing © Sutton Images
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Sauber will test a McLaren-style air inlet system (or F-duct) at this weekend's grand prix in Australia, while Ferrari has admitted it is not yet ready to add its version to the F10.

McLaren's car attracted plenty of attention in Bahrain when it became clear it was running an innovative device to minimise drag and maximise speed on the straights. The driver can stall the rear wing by closing off a vent in his cockpit and altering the flow of air through the car, adding an extra 5mph to its top speed.

Many teams admitted they were looking into copying the idea but Sauber is the only one to turn up at Melbourne with a visible addition to its car. Pedro de la Rosa said he was aware of the system when he was a McLaren test driver but insisted Sauber's, which has an inlet on the sidepod rather than just in front of the cockpit, is its own distinct design.

"I knew basically what they [McLaren] were thinking about," he admitted, "but this is our system. It is a different, Sauber system."

Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis said he thinks the knee-operated system contravenes the spirit of the rules, but nonetheless praised it as an "ingenious solution".

"We are building a similar one, but we do not know if or when we will finish it," he said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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