The E21 is running three roll hoop inlets, with the outer pair used to feed the so-called double DRS device (even though it's passive. Passive in that it doesn't need the DRS to be activated to work. It's regulated, ingeniously, by speed. Keeping the slots that bleed the air out so tiny makes it so you have to be going pretty fast in order for it to actually let enough air out to stall the wing.). The ducting for it isn't being tested yet, so Lotus covered the unused inlets. You'll see the same type of inlets along the airbox in the Mercedes pic I posted about, easy to make it out there. One thing I like about the cars that've used a DRD is that their monkey seats stop looking so much like seats and more like awesome pieces of multi-functional aero, not merely some awkward fixation that catches bleeding scraps of wind that fly onto it. Another thing you'll notice on the Mercedes is the huge periscope/L-duct piece that connects the bottom outlet from the airbox to the rear wing and is definitely not present on the Lotus.
Here's a couple of pictures where you can clearly make out the two red "ears" next to the airbox inlet in the center.
It's an easy way to tell whether it's being used or not. They probably didn't want to use it for the test in Jerez just yet since there's no substantial straights for good baseline data and also because they would want a cleaner picture of the foundational aero. data.
Here's an awesome old image from when they tested the passive DRD in Germany last year, courtesy of Somers F1:
1. Ear inlets
2. Internal ducting path for the air
3. Newly connected airbox outlet (longer as well)
4. Periscope
5. Altered Monkey seat (like a mini-diffuser)
And the zoomed in circle highlight shows the small slots that do the magic, letting the air out once the car's going fast enough for the air to get redirected "up" through the periscope and stalling the wing by shooting air across the wing instead of just down past the wing as regularly.
This next image shows the different paths (two tubes) of the air coming from the ear inlets and the regular old airbox.
The light orange "air" is taking the same path and function as always, but the blue air is coming in through the ears and lets you see how it can hit over the monkey seat and go up through the periscope although they won't be doing this at the same time if I'm understanding all this correctly.
What happens is that at slower speeds, the air is directed down and goes over the monkey seat creating better downforce there, but at higher speed it all gets redirected up through the periscope (again, only the air coming in through the ears) stalling the wing and giving you that beautiful extra gain in straightline speed.
:tup:
