F1 News - Ferrari designs wheel nut for fast pitstops - February, 2010
Feb.19 (GMM) Ferrari has designed a new wheel nut in an effort to win F1's 2010 pitstop race.
With in-race refuelling not allowed this year for the first time since 1993, Williams hinted recently that tyre pitstops in 2010 could be as short as sub-three seconds.Spain's El Pais newspaper reports that Ferrari has responded to the challenge by designing a cone-shaped nut that integrates better with the wheel gun.The nut also features the automatic triggering of its fastener, where previously it needed to be pulled manually by a mechanic."We have worked over the winter to speed up the process of changing tyres," said designer Nikolas Tombazis.