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More Formula 1 teams try Mercedes-style wheel spacers in testing

Both Red Bull and Williams have trialled blown wheel spacers in Formula 1 testing at Barcelona, deploying similar solutions to Mercedes' 'controversial' rear wheel design seen last year.

Mercedes developed the solution in the latter half of 2018, pairing it with its scalloped rear wheel rim in order to manage rear tyre temperatures.

By using the extra surface area to collect heat, the team was able to induce a more consistent temperature distribution across the tyre, reducing the effects of thermal degradation.

The spacer built on that to draw airflow through the wheel, essentially pumping a small amount of heat out.

 
Although the effect was only believed to be worth a couple of degrees centigrade over the course of the race, that can keep a tyre within its peak working range.

In testing, Red Bull and Williams have both trialled solutions of their own in the pursuit of greater tyre management.

Williams employed a spacer with a greater hole size compared to Mercedes' solution last season, which used a number of small holes. Instead Williams has used five larger slots to elicit a greater effect from the system.

This is also combined with the team's own variation of the Mercedes-style rims, featuring a large number of raised sections on the outboard face.

Red Bull has also tried a number of drilled holes in a rear wheel spacer, although it has paired it with its own slotted rim design - a less dramatic way of increasing the wheel's surface area.

The team has also included a similar system at the front of the car, with photographs revealing a number of holes on the inside of the front wheel.

With front axle blowing banned by the 2019 regulations, mounting a solution to the front may assist with circumventing those rules.

After clarification was sought by Ferrari ahead of last season's Mexican Grand Prix, the FIA ruled that the system did not constitute a moveable aerodynamic device and it was given the go-ahead - although Mercedes removed the system thereafter.

Ferrari has also introduced a scalloped wheel rim at the rear of the car, but it is so far unknown if it is trialling a similar blown solution.

Zdroj: autosport.com