McLaren F-Duct may be dangerous
McLaren introduced the system, which requires the driver to deflect air flow in order to stall the rear wing, reduce drag and therefore increase straightline speed, at the start of the season.
With the FIA ruling it legal, Sauber have since run their own version during practice sessions – although their F-duct is reportedly operated by the drivers' elbow blocking the air flow rather than the knee, as is the case with McLaren's system.
Other teams such as Ferrari have already stated that they are working on introducing a similar system as soon as possible, but Newey fears it may not be safe.
"McLaren's F-duct is intelligent and opens new ways. However I'm worried about the safety aspect," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"The system works by stalling the rear wing and getting rid of the load. To force a driver to make a sudden movement to change normal load conditions has to do with safety."
Advantage
Despite Newey's concerns, Red Bull are working to implement their own system having witnessed the advantage it handed McLaren down the long straights at Sepang during last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
However, he added that the design direction they have taken with the RB6 leaves Red Bull unsure whether they would benefit from an F-duct of their own.
"Many cars, including ours, have been re-designed around the double diffuser. The rhythm of development is high and the speed at which you bring new things remains fundamental," said Newey, whose cars scored a one-two finish in Malaysia.
"We are looking at the F-duct. We have understood how it works, but to get it to work properly is another thing. We don't know when we can take it to the track.
"The difficult thing is that McLaren has designed the chassis around that system, but the rules prevent you from modifying the chassis. Every new thing has to be included in the current structure." SkySports