The FIA has deemed Mercedes rear-wing F-duct totally legal after a handful of teams asked the governing body to look into the system.
It appears that the Brackley based outfit is running a completely passive F-duct via the rear-wing whenever the drag-reduction-system is activated, giving a top-speed boost of around 6-8km/h by further stalling the air.
The original F-duct was seen in 2010 when McLaren innovated the simple but effective system which was activated by the driver. However the FIA banned such systems because of the dangers associated with drivers taking one hand off the wheel to re-direct the airflow.
Mercedes have found a way to achieve a similar benefit without the need for additional driver intervention.
“Some teams are questioning it [the Mercedes system] on the basis that they thought F-ducts were banned, but F-ducts are not banned,” said technical delegate Charlie Whiting.
“What it appears some teams are doing is, when the DRS is operated, it will allow air to pass through a duct and do other things. That’s all I can really say,” he attempted to explain.
“It’s completely passive, there are no moving parts in it, it doesn’t interact with the suspension, no steering, nothing. Therefore, I can’t see any rule that prohibits it. There is a school of thought that F-ducts are banned, but we simply cannot ban whatever an F-duct is.”
Several team principals have now admitted that they will look at copying the rear-wing for their own cars.
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