Lotus' front ride height adjuster illegal

It is understood that the FIA have come into action and once again reversed an earlier judgement on a technical innovation. This time, the governing body sent a letter to the teams, stating that any system intended to reduce nosedive under braking is now illegal.

2 weeks earlier, it was revealed that Lotus F1 Team were nearly ready with a system in the front suspension that would allow the team to run lower to the ground during race weekends.

The system was initially deemed legal after inquiries with the FIA. It works through a small hydraulic cylinder in the upright which will provide a few millimetres of lift when the brake pads are pressed onto the brake discs.

After Ferrari officially declared they were already working on it, and Red Bull stating it was looking into it, but would not rush its introduction, it has now been ruled out.

Williams’ senior operations engineer Mark Gillan confirmed the news on Peter Windsor’s “Flying Lap” webcast last night.

“The FIA has just banned that particular type of system,” he said. “We have been investigating that type of system for a while. It obviously has an impact on the aero platform of the car. Anything that gets the front ride height lower is beneficial from an aerodynamic perspective.”