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Italian GP tech attack

Keep up-to-date with all the latest technical developments in F1 with the sport's leading graphical analyst Giorgio Piola. His illustrations are second-to-none, direct from the pit lane, and outline just who is doing what to find the all-important advantage in the world's fastest-moving sport. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to open the illustrations

New nose configurations were all the rage at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. Renault, McLaren and Williams all brought different interpretations to the low-downforce super-fast track.



The new nose on the R24 that Renault used in Monza had a narrow chord and flap. The narrowness can be seen by how much of the endplate is visible; here the degree of flap is at a minimum.



In Hungary there was a new spoon nose, but for Monza the team reverted back to the previous shape, but with the sides of the endplates starting higher up (1) and with a twisted profile (2).



McLaren had a completely new nose for the Italian Grand Prix, and a high downforce version was scheduled to be tested before China. At previous tracks this nose couldn't be combined with the normal flaps because it adversely affected the cooling, but in low downforce trim this deemed not to be an issue.



There was a new rear wing for the FW26 at Monza and on it was the reappearance of shark teeth on the gurney flap (1). These teeth create small air vortices which destroy the bigger vortices that otherwise form and increase drag. The lower section remains twisted (2).



Renault was the only team to use a single-profile wing as opposed to a single-profile plus flap (1). The endplate (2) had lost its holes and flap connections.

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