Vanja #66 wrote: ↑22 Feb 2019, 10:06
It has nothing to do with stiffening rear wing, exhaust or anything else, those kinds of struts would be placed on different locations.
It will though. The bases of the RW endplates attach to the diffuser. Some load will transfer through the endplates to deflect the diffuser corners downward. I'd be interested to know how much total RW, diffuser, and floor downforce is carried through the floor itself via it's attachments to the bases of the engine and gearbox. Structurally this is a poorer load path, like a diving board. It makes me wonder if the majority of rear wing down force is ultimately carried by the central rear wing support(s).