Brawn tried ‘shark fin’ in Spa practice

(GMM) Sharp-eyed observers would have noticed the Brawn team trialing a 'shark-fin' engine cover over a few practice laps at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend.

With in-season testing now heavily restricted, the championship-leading outfit fitted the new engine cover to its BGP001 car at the Belgian track following development in the wind tunnel.

"We tested it in the wind tunnel but the data suggested no improvement," team boss Ross Brawn told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

The Brackley based team nonetheless took the bodywork to Spa to double-check its ineffectiveness on the actual circuit.

"The (track) test confirmed the results of the wind tunnel," Brawn confirmed, and the shark-fin duly disappeared ahead of qualifying and the race.

Shark fin-style engine covers are used in races by teams including Toyota, Red Bull, BMW and Renault.