Team Penske’s Will Power believes water leaks found in the aeroscreen should be an easy fix, after the issue was detected during a wet opening day of IndyCar testing.
Persistent rainfall and cold temperatures struck the Circuit of the Americas on Tuesday, restricting running, which was eventually abandoned as conditions worsened.
IndyCar has introduced the aeroscreen for 2020 as part of efforts to improve head protection for drivers in single-seater competition.
Power noted that water was seeping into his car via the aeroscreen while he was following team-mate Scott McLaughlin out on track.
“Obviously I didn’t run that long,” said Power. “[There was] definitely water leaking in the bottom of the screen, up into the inside of the screen.
“There’s some water dripping in on your steering wheel and on your visor that would be an easy fix.
“We already saw areas where the water was getting in. It seems like it [the aeroscreen] needs a lip around the top because water drips in as you drive.
“The windscreen is great. It just clears. So, yeah, that’s sort of the things we were trying to find out.
“Yeah, it would have been nice to run when it’s really raining.”
Despite the issue, both Power and Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward were impressed with the screen, despite some restrictions on the view out of the cockpit.
“The screen, it eliminates some of the view that you have from, like, the near sides,” said O’Ward.
“Anywhere like in front, kind of around where you actually usually see, there’s nothing different at all, which was to me impressive.
“You don’t even recognise the screen,” added Power. “As soon as you’re out there [on track], you’re focused on way up there [out of the screen], not right here [on the pillar].”
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