Radical Williams winglet 'not legal'

Jun.24 - A radical new winglet tested by Williams in Austria on Tuesday is not legal.

That is the claim of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, after observers at the post-race test at the rainy Red Bull Ring spotted the innovation on the car run by Susie Wolff.

But the winglet, mounted on the floor ahead of the rear wheels, is not legal said correspondent Michael Schmidt, after checking with "other teams and the FIA regulations".

"Definitely illegal," a voice from within a rival team is quoted as saying.

"It looks like Williams just wanted to easily simulate some more downforce at the rear of the car."

Another notable innovation as the two-day test began in Austria was on Force India's new 'B' spec car.

The new nose features two large, conspicuous 'nostrils' at the end.

As for whether that solution is legal, another Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Tobias Gruner confirmed: "It is.

"It passed the mandatory FIA crash test at the second attempt."

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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