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2006: Sidepod vanes for everyone

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Similar to the adoption of the twin keel front suspension the sidepod vanes are not new but have only been used by few teams in 2005. At the beginning of 2006, Honda, Toyota and Midland each had a version of the elements. The sidepod vane is in all its version located just ahead of the sidepod and above the air inlet. At the end of the season the vanes were for all teams attached at the sidepods. The aim of the carbon element is to improve airflow from behind the front wheels over and aside the sidepods. Renault was the first to spot the advantage at Canada and was followed by aero updates by BMW Sauber and Ferrari. At the time 2006 came to a close, only both Red Bull teams drove without any such vane.

Comments

By Saribro on 20-11-2006 at 00:11

McLaren didn\'t have any vanes either. Also, different teams used them differently. For example: Ferrari and Renault seemed to stick to a low-profile, vertical, parrallel to the car centerline vane to manage the airflow; while teams such as Super Aguri and Williams had extra planes on the inside of the vanes, perpendicular to the car centerline, for generating some extra downforce I suppose.

By Steven on 20-11-2006 at 10:57

Correct, McLaren did not have any vanes ;)

Your second remark is also spot on, as SA, Williams, Midland and BMW Sauber (and possibly even Toyota) had an extra little winglet attached on the inside of the panel to generate downforce.
The ones used by Honda, Renault and Ferrari were similar to each other as those are curvatious panels without anything else attached to it.

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