Controversial technology wins Expo awards.

Two of the more controversial technological advances seen in Formula One this season have received awards at the Professional MotorSport World Expo session in Cologne.

Over 500 motorsport professionals, press and VIPs gathered at the event's gala dinner to welcome the winners in eight categories announced under the themes of 'Technology' and 'People', and saw Ferrari's rear-wheel covers take the 'Aerodynamic Breakthrough of the Year' prize, while double champion Renault walked off with the 'Chassis Development of the Year' category, despite its tuned mass damper system having been outlawed mid-season.

Ferrari's wheel covers raised eyebrows at about the same time as Renault was being told that it could not continue to use its mass dampers, with the irony being that the latter, despite being completely enclosed within the R26's bodywork, was outlawed on the ground of being a moveable aerodynamic device. The wheel covers, clearly more aerodynamically involved, went 'unpunished' to the end of the season.

The Scuderia claimed that the devices were part of its brake cooling system, but experts pointed out that the disc-like structures also made useful deflectors to prevent the spillage of air - which would influence the critical airflow over and around the car - from within the wheels.

The mass damper system, by contrast, had little obvious effect on the Renault's aerodynamics, but clearly served the purpose of keeping the car in contact with the ground for longer periods of time, improving its balance and enabling better tyre wear rates. The regie wasn't the only team to be affected by the ban, but Ferrari was among those teams not to have perfected the system.

For the record, other technological awards went to Bosch, for its part in Audi's all-conquering diesel sportscar engine; Xtrac, for its quasi-transient differential test rig; and to the FIA Institute and TecPro International, which jointly won 'Safety Innovation of the Year' for the impact-absorbing High-speed Safety Barrier.

Audi Sport's head of engine technology, Ulrich Baretzky, collected the prize for 'Design Engineer of the Year', while Kronos Racing's Marc van Dalen picked up the award for 'Team Principal of the Year' after guiding Sebastien Loeb to another WRC title.