James Vowles, Williams Formula 1 team principal, said Williams driver Alex Albon’s series of late pitstops at the Japanese Grand Prix were a deliberate move to turn the race’s final laps into live aerodynamic testing.
With a points finish out of reach, Williams elected to vary front wing angles across several stints to gather correlation data between on-track behaviour and the team’s wind tunnel and CFD models.
Vowles explained this approach during his fan Q&A podcast The Vowles Verdict, noting that conventional race instrumentation like flow‑viz or rakes could not be fitted, so wing-angle changes provided usable aerodynamic data.
The measurements aim to verify the downforce map Williams is using and to reveal any unexpected gains or losses as the team develops its car after missing private testing in Barcelona and starting the season with an overweight car.
Read the full article at motorsport.com.
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