The Barely A Wing Thing

McLaren’s extreme slotted rear wing endplate was the surprise development of the Grand Prix. Bisected by several large vertical slots, the wing was then able to supply higher pressure air from outside the wing to flow through the duct formed by the wing and its endplates. As the increased volume of air passes beneath the wing, it speeds up, lowering the pressure, thus providing more downforce with less drag. The reward was Jenson Button’s net third place on the grid and an excellent sixth place finish. Look for more versions of the “barely there” look, possibly by Silverstone.

The Driver of the Day

Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein had qualified 12th but had fallen back when he pitted just before the safety car for Sebastian Vettel’s tyre failure. He then made his soft tyres last 48 laps as he clawed his way toward Valtteri Bottas’s Williams in 10th. Bottas’ supersoft tires were 20 laps fresher. On the final lap, Sergio Perez’s brake-failure crash elevated both Bottas and Wehrlein one position, and with that Manor gained only the second points finish of its F1 history and the first since Jules Bianchi’s ninth place at Monaco 2014 when the team was known as Marussia.