Ferrari SF-26

[AR3-GP]

I've been thinking about the purpose of the "sticky-uppy bit" in the center of Ferrari's macarena wing. I think its purpose is to pretension the flap. It makes some drag which when applied in this position relative to the rotation point is creating a "restoring torque" that keeps the wing under a rotational tension when it's upside down. Either that or it's some kind of counterweight or mass damper to do the same thing.

That may be the case, but Ferrari clearly consider it to be an aerodynamic element as well. It even has it's own tiny little gurney flap!

Yes but I think it's not for specifically for generating downforce on its own. Its connected to the operation of the wing. Potentially part of making it move faster or move more reliably.

[mzso]

By the way, it seems that RedBull has been working on this for a while, before Ferrari showed its solution. So may not be inspired by Ferrari's wing at all.

Seems from what? There was no mention or sign of it until the recent filming day test.

[AmateurDriver]

By the way, it seems that RedBull has been working on this for a while, before Ferrari showed its solution. So may not be inspired by Ferrari's wing at all.

Seems from what? There was no mention or sign of it until the recent filming day test.

Maybe they started working on it not much after Ferrari, but it is clear the idea leaked from Maranello to Milton Keynes. Come Red Bull ("we started studying it independently"), DRS has stayed the same for many years, and then all of a sudden two team conceive the same idea in the same days...

[Brahmal]

Maybe they started working on it not much after Ferrari, but it is clear the idea leaked from Maranello to Milton Keynes. Come Red Bull ("we started studying it independently"), DRS has stayed the same for many years, and then all of a sudden two team conceive the same idea in the same days...

There was an interview with Tombazis when Ferrari's wing first surfaced, who stated that they had deliberately opened up the regulations with active aero to encourage more innovations like this. This implies that the DRS mechanism was very tightly regulated throughout most of that era. I'm sure all of the teams have investigated alternatives to some extent, with Ferrari and Red Bull just being the most advanced. I bet by this time next year, few or no teams will have the traditional DRS opening style.

[AmateurDriver]

Maybe they started working on it not much after Ferrari, but it is clear the idea leaked from Maranello to Milton Keynes. Come Red Bull ("we started studying it independently"), DRS has stayed the same for many years, and then all of a sudden two team conceive the same idea in the same days...

There was an interview with Tombazis when Ferrari's wing first surfaced, who stated that they had deliberately opened up the regulations with active aero to encourage more innovations like this. This implies that the DRS mechanism was very tightly regulated throughout most of that era. I'm sure all of the teams have investigated alternatives to some extent, with Ferrari and Red Bull just being the most advanced. I bet by this time next year, few or no teams will have the traditional DRS opening style.

I don't think so, when macarena wing was first spotted, people started immediately wondering whether or not it was completely legal, and concluded that it was indeed, since all regulation demands (and demanded) is having only two stable positions for the movable flap, without specifying which direction flap has to be oriented. If macarena wing was the direct consequence of a regulatory liberalization, this would imply that flipping the flap was already in the mind of rule makers, and then of course in the mind of all teams' aerodynamicists, which is not the case, since we have only two teams operating the concept.