Oh I see it is curved back, so very much an endplate effect. Good thinking Alpine.
I imagine everyone will copy that (as we see on the Alpine, they have just glued an extra bit on to the old rear wing endplates, so I presume they have just thought of it fairly recently and added it to the car ASAP?), it's a great idea. I can see it being much more effective than the Mercedes version.
The Alpine version obviously loses lateral expansion (which the Mercedes version allows), but instead gains better separation of the low and high pressure sides of the wing longitudinally ... as if the rear wing has much (5-10%?) bigger endplates.
bosyber wrote: ↑07 May 2022, 13:51
indeed, if it works it might be a pretty big thing. And presumably relatively easy for others to follow, so if it is detrimental to the wake, I think the FIA would possibly step in to stop it. But for now, clever.
Just as Alpine is avoiding the intent of the rear wing endplate blending rule, Mercedes is also undermining the intent of the front wing endplate blending rule with their slotted front wing endplate too. Both of these loopholes could be easily tidied up for the 2023 regulations (or even mid-season, asking both of those teams to revert to an older spec if desired, but I don't think they are such urgent matters).
Bad Ocon!
(That double bib as above that most of the cars now have is obviously another loophole which could be closed for 2023 if the FIA desires, but maybe it's not a big deal either.)
