Flexi-Wings and Start Strategy

The Belgian GP was not not especially spectacular to watch on TV. The drag down to and up Eau Rouge between Alonso and Hamilton was great to watch but after the first 3 corners it was essentially all over.

So, let's look at these two videos, rarely seen on TV and showing some more esoteric (or geekier...you pick) aspects of F1: Flexi-wings and Launch Control...(yeah, I know it's not supposed to exist).

By now we are familiar with the concept of flexible wings as used in F1, a brilliant way to get around the limitation on movable aero-devices. This video of Fisichella's Renault very clearly illustrates the principle. You see the angle of attack of the lower rear element on the front wing change with speed very clearly. You can also see that there is some instability in the element, no way to know if something is broken or just not working right but that same element bounces up an down when the car rides curbs, that cannot be good for aero grip and I wonder if it's what causes Giancarlo to lift a touch the fist time going through Eau Rouge.

As an aside...why not allow use of movable front wings in passing situations to counter the washout effect of following other cars closely? Any aerodynamicists out there?




In the second video, practice starts, first Jarno Trulli in the Toyota then Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. Aside from the fact that the Toyota has it's clutch lever on the left side and the Ferrari on the right, it sounds like they use quite a different traction control strategy, listen