With pre-season testing from Bahrain underway, there were a handful of unusual bits spotted during the opening hours of running.
Eagle-eyed viewers during pre-season testing from Bahrain spotted something strange on the Ferrari Formula 1 car on Thursday.
The nose of the car appeared to pucker inward slightly along the main straight, before ironing out elsewhere around the circuit.
According to Sky Sports F1, Ferrari says that the deformation was “not intentional” and the team is working on fixing the issue.
F1 front wings are not structural and are therefore more likely to be impacted by the air pressure they take on at high speed.
In recent years, other bits such as floors and front wing endplates were seen moving and flexing at high speed.
🚨| Ferrari has confirmed that the slight bending of the nose was not intentional.
ℹ️ | @GiulyDuchessa pic.twitter.com/9oTJVbiG1Y
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) February 23, 2023
Elsewhere in the paddock, there was also intrigue regarding exposed wires in the cockpit of Mercedes’ car.
It is being reported that the wiring is designed to measure porpoising, an issue that plagued the opening stages of Mercedes’ 2022 season.
The wires are seemingly an accelerometer that measures movements from the steering wheel, giving the team an understanding of what the drivers are experiencing in the cockpit.
Mercedes enters the year looking to bounce back from its turbulent 2022 campaign that saw it drop down the pecking order following a long dominant stretch in the turbo-hybrid era.
It has retained its zero sidepod concept for the upcoming year, however reports suggest that they have another design ready to go if it is unable to capitalise on its chosen development path.
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