It’s believed Mercedes tested a component planned for their 2012 car in Jerez on Thursday, which helped propel Nico Rosberg to the top of the times.
Rumours circulated last year that Mercedes had developed a front-wing F-duct which allows air to enter the front-nose, before being channelled down the wing struts and out under the floor.
Mercedes tested the new component in Jerez in the afternoon, identified by the open nose (see photo below), compared to that of the closed nose in the morning, allowing the outfit to make a direct comparison.
Martin Whitmarsh first speculated that a passive F-duct could provide as much as 5-7kph extra straight-line speed, as well as creating further downforce.
Whilst the original F-duct was banned at the end of 2010, the regulations only govern the rear-wing, leaving teams to experiment with the front-wing – which isn’t quite as advantegeous.
