Melting the sidepod shield into the car

McLaren have once again found a novelty in the sidepod development. While last year they were the first to connect the well known chimney (hot air exhaust atop of the sidepod), the MP4-23 has the most elegant sidepod shield seen thus far. While previous versions were more of an attachment to the sidepod, the new iteration is seemingly a melted part that came loose of the sidepod. The design extends the sidepod at the bottom to allow more air to pass around the sidepod and onto the diffuser. Despite the more complicated approach to frontal aerodynamics, the new design is very natural and beneficial for drag reduction.