McLaren running ’unusual sidepods’ at Spa

At Spa on Friday, McLaren’s 2012 car was sporting the most visibly obvious development, in the wake of F1’s month-long summer break.

The concept was described by Auto Motor und Sport as a pair of "unusual sidepods" for the MP4-27, featuring almost a second layer or wing above the top surface.

But the German publication said the Swiss team Sauber actually first thought of the idea, with the gap between the surfaces apparently speeding up the air as on its way to the rear of the car.

In other development news, Lotus will almost certainly not debut its double DRS-inspired straightline speed-boosting "device" at Spa-Francorchamps, after Friday’s practice washout.

"With discretion being the better part of valour, we will conduct P3 (on Saturday) with a conventional aero package rather than attempting to squeeze Friday’s intended evaluation into the precious final practice session," said technical boss James Allison.