ginsu wrote:I think they are exhausting brake heat on the inside of the wheel just like Ferrari and using the heat to help with flow under the lower element of the rear wing. So far, only Ferrari and Renault have their cars setup this way, and they are the only ones running the rim shields, not suprising.
You can see the ports for exhausting the brake heat below the lower element right up next to the wheel. It's just a little hole cut out of the fairing on the wheel.
this had me wondering, might another aplication be that the heat exits slower, and turbulates inside the rim, thus heating it and thereby contributing a little to heating the rear tyres. it would be better due to the smaller camber angles required, and thereby also contributing to better topspeeds and smaller graining wear. just an idea, what do you think?