Lotus had a terrible season in 2014 by their own high standards, not only struggling with the Renault power unit but also hampered by their own asymmetric aero design. The switch to the Mercedes power unit and a back to basics aero approach stands them in good stead for a return to form in 2015.
The team joins a long list of other teams (Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren) that now run a dog legged tyre squirt slot in the tyre spat region ahead of the rear tyre (inset). The design of course differs to the others already seen, in order to suit their own characteristics.
The goal of the slot(s) is to condition the airflow received by the tyre, mitigating the laterally ‘squirting’ of airflow into the diffusers path as the tyre deforms under load. (Note: The team ran this throughout pre-season testing but it is new for this season).
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