By Shaun Summerfield
As agricultural as it looks, the farm gate mounted on either side of Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari at the pre-season Formula One test at Circuit de Catalunya is actually a state of the art device for measuring aerodynamics of the race car in a real life situation.
The 'fence' is actually a large sensor array which allows the engineers to measure the air flow behind the front wheels. Look closely and you can see the aerials which transmit the information in real time.
At high speed, aerodynamics become the most influential factor on how a Formula One car drives.
A prime example of this is the difference in speed created by the DRS during overtaking.
As well as the 'fence' you will often see teams coat spoilers with wet paint which when splashed across the bodywork at speed, they use to evaluate airflow over the bodywork.
Formula One is not all glamour, it can get damn messy, or should that be meshy?
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