TECH CORNER: McLaren introduced "mermaid tails" to its front wing design

For this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, McLaren have introduced a revision to the front wing design of their MCL39 with what they call "mermaid tail" to the endplates.

McLaren had an up-and-down opening day at the Canadian Grand Prix. The papaya team looked to struggle for pace in Free Practice 1, and they were unable to challenge for top places at the beginning of the second one-hour session.

However, Lando Norris manage to get within touching distance of George Russell with a late push lap. Piastri's McLaren was looking tricky to handle, and his best lap only merited P6.

The Woking-based outfit brought a raft of upgrades to Montreal, including a new front wing geometry, a rear wing and a modified front suspension.

Designed to ‘improve aerodynamic performance across a wide range of attitudes’, the main elements have all been redesigned but the most visible aspect is the introduction of what the team calls ‘mermaid’s tails’ to the end plates of the front wing.

"A revised front wing geometry aiming at improved aerodynamic performance across a wide range of attitudes, through a redesign of main elements as well as introduction of 'mermaid tails' to the front wing endplate," the team noted.

The team performed a series of throughout test runs with the new design, with Norris' car sporting some flow vis paint at times while his team-mate Piastri was running aero rakes in the early stages of FP1.

In addition, McLaren also brought a revised front suspension geometry which they called a "small modification" The modification came "with an updated aerodynamic surface, to accommodate the geometry change and reoptimize local flow conditioning."

Because of the long full-throttle sections of the Montreal circuit, the team also brought a circuit-specific modification. The updated version of the medium downforce rear wing assembly is expected to enable "a more efficient coverage of a larger drag range, suitable for multiple circuits."