2005: Renault Mass Dampers.
The 2005 rules kept the nose of the car too close to the ground, so the bouncing effect of the car was accentuated with the car on the track. In Renault they found the solution with its mass damper, a spring inside a cylinder, as a shock absorber, at the front of the car that compensated for vertical forces and absorbed irregularities in the asphalt. Despite being an extra weight in the car, the car’s times and performance improved significantly, allowing it to attack the curbs more. These weights could also vary depending on each track and even at Enstone they took the idea to the rear of the car. Quickly the rest of the teams managed to develop their own mass damper, some with more luck than others. In 2006, already with the new V8 engines, and after numerous protests from Ferrari and McLaren, the FIA considered it a mobile aerodynamic element and proceeded to ban it.