Mercedes to debut Renault-like side exhausts

Mercedes is reportedly set to introduce a Renault-like approach to its 2011 car’s exhaust layout for debut in Barcelona next weekend.

It was already rumoured that the German team is perhaps now closer than any other to imitating Red Bull’s flexible front wing.

"For Barcelona we have some aerodynamic developments that should bring us a step in performance," team boss Ross Brawn told Auto Motor und Sport.

AS newspaper said the main feature of Mercedes’ Spanish upgrade is side-exiting exhausts, with Red Bull’s Adrian Newey admitting recently that innovation has been the most impressive of the season so far.

Said team driver Nico Rosberg: "Most teams are bringing new things, but I think ours could be better than the others to bring us a little closer to the top."

Meanwhile, Italy’s Autosprint said McLaren is set to move forward in Barcelona in the crucial new area of engine mapping settings for the blown exhaust.

"For Turkey we’d planned to introduce a couple of useful upgrades, but for several reasons we weren’t able to get them onto the car," revealed Jenson Button.