Mercedes working on ’automatic’ F-duct

Mercedes is working on an F-duct system that does not need to be controlled by the drivers.

Germany’s Auto Bild Motorsport reports that the German team’s downforce-stalling solution could be ready to debut on the W01 car in Istanbul in just over a week.

McLaren pioneered the technology this year, where the blockage of an air inlet inside the cockpit with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button’s knee allows air to flow through the engine cover and out a slot in the rear wing.

Ferrari and Sauber’s subsequent systems involve the air inlet being blocked by a driver’s hand.

Until now, Mercedes has had a passive F-duct solution, where air is diverted at increasingly high speeds through a rear wing slot.

But its full system could be truly innovative and function without needing the drivers’ input, although Norbert Haug said that "right now it is still in the experimental phase".

"Our solution is different from the other teams," the German confirmed.