A first trial of an idea at Silverstone in July did not yield the results hoped for, with the wheel-fairings used only reducing the spray thrown up by a small amount.
F1 chiefs know that a much bigger step is required if they are to limit spray enough to help cars race more in rainy conditions.
The FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has explained that, following analysis of what happened at Silverstone, the next test will be with a much different design.
“What was done at Silverstone, with the help of Mercedes who created parts and McLaren [who ran a car to get feedback on spray] was perhaps too optimistic an experiment,” Tombazis told Autosport.
“The spray guards covered too little of the wheel. I was quite sceptical and imagined that we wouldn't see important results.
“In the next tests we will carry out, we will test complete coverage of the wheel, going even beyond what would be needed to understand what the threshold is at which the spray forms. Then we will decide which path to take.”
Tombazis has explained just how complicated finding a solution is, with the excessive spray thrown up by F1 cars being triggered by different factors.
“The first is from the water that is extracted from the tyres and shot upwards,” he said.
Source: Autosport