Williams change exhaust vane

The Williams team have changed the design of their exhaust vane after the FIA deemed the previous design illegal.

The new 2013 Formula One season might still be yet to get under way, but the FIA have already stepped in to lay down the law.

Williams only unveiled their new 2013 car a couple of weeks ago, but almost immediately Formula One’s governing body deemed it’s exhaust design illegal [Along with Caterham’s similar design].

In recent years the airflow around the back end of the car has proved to be crucial in regards to teams gaining a performance advantage, the design of a teams blown diffuser could make or break your season with 2009 being a clear example of this when Jenson Button and Brawn GP ran away with both the drivers title and constructors title during the first half of that season.

Both the Williams team and Caterham appeared at the winter tests with extra bodywork around the exhaust, with vanes appearing to aid the way the gases work for aerodynamic effect around the new Coanda exhausts.

But following the FIA’s intervention the teams were told they would be forced to re-evaluate ahead of the opening Grand Prix of the season in Australia.

The Williams team have moved quickly and arrived at the final winter test session in Barcelona with a new design.

‘we have made some modifications and now it is finished. We have changed it and that is it.’ Williams chief race engineer Xevi Pujolar told Autosport Magazine.