“If you allow the rear wing to reduce its angle, you lose drag, rather like an f-duct system last year,” explains Allison. However, changing the rear wing angle changes the drag of the car, and therefore the straight-line speed dramatically. If you change the angle of the front wing, you change the car balance, but the overall drag of the car remains about the same and hence straight-line speed is largely unaffected. If adjustable front wings didn’t help overtaking, why will adjustable rear wings fare any better? Well, it all comes down to the different way that changing the angle of the front and rear wings affects the overall drag of the car. In the picture above the Renault R31’s rear wing is in its normal configuration, but compare it with the shot below and you will note the much larger slot. That’s why the teams voted to remove adjustable front wings and try a new initiative with the rear wings with the intention of generating better overtaking opportunities.” Instead it was used as a device to optimise car balance as the tyres degraded and the fuel load reduced. It’s an interesting concept that presents the teams with asignificant technical challenge and is likely to be one of the major talking points of the season.Īlong with the arrival of adjustable rear wings is the departure of adjustable front wings – a concept that never really delivered what was expected of it, as Renault Technical Director, James Allison, explains: “The moveable front flap was brought in to try and assist with overtaking, but in practice it didn’t really make a difference. Of all the changes introduced by the 2011 technical regulations, perhaps the most exciting is the arrival of the adjustable rear wing, a device designed to generate better racing and improve the show for the fans. New technical regulations see the arrival of adjustable rear wings in 2011, but what exactly will it mean for Formula 1 and will it help improve the spectacle?

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