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| Will Power leads Juan Pablo Montoya into Turn 10 during the 2015 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg — Photo: Chris Owens |
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg had five cautions for a total of 22 laps last Sunday. Aero kit pieces were scattered along the track for most of the race, making cleanup efforts slow and dangerous. One spectator was even hit in the head with debris around turn ten of the course.
It’s clear the new aero kits aren’t as sturdy as the stock Dallara chassis was in previous seasons. Light taps that would usually result in no damage proved to be more serious this year. The 2014 champion suffered damage to his front wing when attempting to pass Juan Pablo Montoya, ending his chances of a race win.
Talking to Autosport, Will Power said that losing his front wing “did make a difference. Definitely lost front end [grip] when I knocked that off,” he said.
“They’re not on there for no reason. They spend millions of bucks and have windtunnels to have nice little rabbit ears. It’s better if you don’t knock them off,” he added.
When asked about making contact with other cars, Power said “I think you can probably [still] rub. But, yeah, you probably have less contact than with the other car.”
Even with the need to be more careful this year, Tony Kanaan said that “aero kits made the racing a lot closer, which I couldn’t believe was going to happen. In a way I think it’s a good thing. In the past I think we had too much of a strong car, that we would use that against each other, and nothing would happen.”
“Nowadays you’re going to have to think about what to do.”
The Single Seater 