I have seen a lot of dicussion of Adrian Newey's extension to the Red Bull RB4's airbox into a fin that almost reaches the rear wing. Theories suggesting what aerodynamic advantage might be gained are legion but I think it's as simple a matter as adding a stabilizing fin - and the team's comments would confirm this.
Renault R28
What seems to have escaped everyone's attention, however, is the ugly scoop that Renault have attached underneath the nose of the R28. When you combine that with the misshapen wing over the nose, the whole assembly looks like some weird exhibit in an avant garde art gallery in Paris.
One must presume that the wind tunnel shows some advantage in this configuration but it is difficult to see what purpose the scoop serves. Were there a long-handled broom added, I could see that the idea was to clear the road of dust ahead of the car, a sort of dustpan and brush arrangement. As it is, the scoop seems to be a lower wing element that failed to grow to full size.
Joking aside, the scoop must direct the airflow under the nose in some desired way that maximizes downforce from other elements. Apparently, the airstream on either side of the nose is not a problem and is allowed to proceed without manipulation to the rearward areas, so the wing does not extend to the endplates.
It may be because it has not been seen before but the scoop looks extremely ugly to me, much more so than Newey's fin on the RB4. The Red Bull does at least create echoes of what has gone before, the Jaguar D Type and the Cadillacs of the late fifties/early sixties. But Renault's invention reminds me of nothing other than household cleaning implements.
Sometimes I wonder whether Max should set up a committee to define boundaries of good taste allowed on F1 cars. There is a precedent, after all; he wouldn't allow BAR to have their dual livery, advertising one brand of cigarettes on one side and another on the other. And we might be able to get something done about the Honda liveries then, too...