The teams not ready to let go of the wind tunnels

While the teams have significantly different opinions regarding the possible ban on wind tunnels, they agree that a ban would not be beneficial in the near future. The design of a car by computer (CFD), notably tested by Marussia with the Virgin VR-01 of 2010 and the MVR-02 of 2011, does not seem not yet sufficiently developed to obtain satisfactory results without the support of the blower.

" I think that it is possible ", recognized Jonathan Neale, the sporting director of McLaren, in the Suzuka paddock. “The progression towards software, CFD, the installation of sensors on the car is gradually taking over from the wind tunnel. I wouldn't like to give a performance or time scale on that. We are neutral on this matter. I'm not worried about security because I think there are plenty of other ways to validate a program. »

Jonathan Neale's view on security is not shared by Paddy Lowe, the technical director of Mercedes F1. “I think we will one day stop using wind tunnels as new technologies become superior, but I suspect that will not happen for many years... I have to disagree with Jonathan on this Security. We saw that some cars become unstable at high speeds in other disciplines (as in IndyCar) ", underlined the British engineer.