McLaren get radical with new floor

The McLaren team, struggling for lack of pace this offseason, ran a radical new aerodynamic modification on the MP4-24 in Barcelona Monday. The car, driven by Heikki Kovalainen, is sporting a new floor which is missing certain parts in an attempted bid to improve airflow to the rear end of the vehicle. The new device, if successful, should allow the McLaren to improve its straight-line speed. The design aims to aid smoother airflow which first passes through the car via the front wing.

By cutting out the 'triangle', the edge of the diffuser of the car (aerodynamic device located under the rear wing) is effectively moved backwards, thus allowing greater airflow to the rear wing; with this greater amount of airflow subsequently creating more rear-end downforce, the team can afford to reduce the size of the car's rear wing which, in turn, results in less drag and greater top speeds on straight sections of the circuit.