By Jonathan Noble Monday, July 14th 2008, 15:27 GMT
Lewis Hamilton during testing at HockenheimMcLaren have decided against introducing their shark fin engine cover at the German Grand Prix, autosport.com has learned, despite some encouraging results in last week's Hockenheim test.
The Woking-based team experimented with the new cover as part of their build-up to this weekend's race, with Lewis Hamilton topping the times as he used it alongside other aerodynamic and mechanical developments.
However, autosport.com understands that McLaren want to run the fin in further tests before committing to using it at a race weekend. With further evaluation not possible prior to Hockenheim, the team will stick with their current design for now.
Heikki Kovalainen said after the test last week that he felt the team needed to be sure the shark fin would not be affected badly by crosswinds - something that caused Giancarlo Fisichella to crash his Force India during testing at Silverstone recently.
"Maybe Hockenheim is not the best place to try this new wing and we need to see if it is affected by crosswinds," said Kovalainen. "It was quite windy at the Hockenheim test, but we didn't seem to be too affected by the wind. It's definitely encouraging for the future."
McLaren's decision means that both the teams that tried shark fin covers out at the Hockenheim test last week have decided not to race them, with Toyota not taking theirs to the German GP either.
