2008 will be the end of an era as, from next year, the various aerodynamic appendages that adorn F1 cars will largely be banned. This year has seen several innovations already with shark fins and elephant ears already being adopted by the main teams. John Beamer investigates.

In the days of yore Hockenheim was a very fast track bursting through forests at an almost flat out pace. These days the influence of Bernie's architect, Herman Tilke, has transformed the circuit into another run of the mill medium downforce circuit like many others on the calendar. Let's take a look at what challenges face the teams this coming weekend.

A special weekend is coming up — the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It's a crtical point in the season for McLaren and Lewis Hamilton who need to score at least a podium finish to get their season back on track. John Beamer looks at the technical challenge of the circuit.

Popular belief is that Formula 1 is all about downforce. It would take a moron to try to dispel that view (and I'm not about to try) but many don't realise that sometimes engineers do want to generate lift on the car. John Beamer investigates.

Last year McLaren dominated the Monaco Grand Prix. Why? Conventional wisdom said it was because the car had better aero for slow corners. Not true. John Beamer looks at why McLaren dominated Moncao in 2007 and whether they'll be able to hold their advantage in 2008.

Next year (2009) will see the biggest shake up in the aero regulations for 10 years. That means the cars will probably look quite a bit different to their 2008 brethren. We won't quite get back to the MP4/7 (pictured) but it could look more like that than you may think!

Yesterday Felipe Massa debuted the much discussed radical nose cone on his F2008. He promptly went over 2 seconds faster than the next best driver. How does the nose cone work and is it really that good? John Beamer investigates.

After the first few races of 2008 it is clear that BMW-Sauber have taken a step forward. Given the engine freeze one of the few ways to gain ground is to optimise aero performance. John Beamer looks at the root causes behind BMW's move up the grid.

After looking at some of the basics of aerodynamics in the last installment, John returns to ask why it is so difficult to overtake, what are some of the latest aerodynamic innovations in the sport, and what the 2009 technical regulations mean for aero performance.

F1-Pitlane will cover many aspects of formula 1. One area where we want to differentiate is in the depth of our technical analysis — indeed, many of you have requested more technical articles. John Beamer reveals what F1P readers can look forward to over the next year and throws in a freebie on aero.