Red Bull and Mercedes are among the Formula 1 teams to have seized on the removal of active aero for the Monaco Grand Prix to introduce some radical winglets on the rear wing.

For the first time this season, F1 teams will not be allowed to run moveable wings because there are no designated straight modes for the Monte Carlo street circuit.

That decision means teams do not need to continue using their regular activation mechanisms on either their front or rear wings because the flap configuration will remain unchanged throughout.

But in the chase for marginal chains, teams have seen opportunity from no active aero and have re-engineered the mechanism areas on their rear wings to introduce some unique extra winglets that will add extra downforce.

These have exploited allowances within F1’s aerodynamic regulations that gives teams freedoms within certainly legality boxes to do what they want

Normally these mini wings would not make sense when active aero is available because they would be too intricate and complex for airflow when the flaps switch frequently between corner mode and straight mode.

But with everything fixed for Monaco, the opportunity to seek performance gains in this area has clearly proved to be an attractive one.

Red Bull’s design (main picture, above) features two wing elements attached on top of its normal central mechanism.

Mercedes (above) appears to be much more of a wholesale redesign, with its entire mechanism having been trimmed back and replaced with a complex set of wings.

McLaren is expected to feature a similar concept, while the Ferrari that has appeared does not to feature any exploitation in this area, so far.

As well as the changes at the rear of the cars, Audi has used the fact that the front wing elements do not move to remove the bulky mechanism fairings it has used since the start of the season.