Tech insight - McLaren’s wonder wing

Last weekend’s Grand Prix in the United States saw McLaren introduce what must surely be the most sophisticated front wing layout seen this season…

The section of the main plain immediately adjacent to the 50 cm-wide neutral section in the middle of the wing is critical in generating airflow vortices that influence how air passes to the rest of the car. What McLaren did for the first time in Austin was to add two small slots in this area, one in the short-chord main plain and another in the second element of the wing (both slots highlighted in yellow). This opens up a new area of development not before seen in F1 racing and one which other teams will no doubt be rapidly investigating.