Formula One car development blog

At the beginning of the season, Ferrari came up with a double plane front wing. The upper planes were however attached to the nosecone by flexible joints, causing much controversy and the demand to chance the design. As the wing was found legal in after the changes, other teams started investigating the idea and Renault came up with a similar design at Hockenheim. This time around it's Williams who have seemingly copied the Renault design in terms of the upper planes and their curvy... Read more

Just like Toyota, Williams seem to need some extra winglets in order to have the required amount of downforce needed on a circuit like the Hungaroring. Instead of one element, three were present in Hungary. An important difference with the Toyota setup however is the fact that all of these small wings are pointing upwards and therefore work opposite to the Japanese items.

Williams have developed a a support for the flipups ahead of the rear wheels. While it does support the flipup, its most important function is undoubtedly to direct air towards the centreline of the car. Directing the flow away from the rear wheel might slightly decrease drag, while in the centre of the car it us pushed up above the diffuser, or if you like, pulled up under the rear wing.

Williams F1 have taken different front wing specifications to Magny-Cours. One of which sports an extra wide upper element. It's the largest seen so far at Williams and appears to be making a third lower wing element unneeded. The second front wing is the traditionally used item with three elements and a smaller upper element.