May 1 (GMM) Sam Michael has signalled the possibility that Williams may tinker again with the huge engine cover fins that are now operating effectively on the Renault and Red Bull cars.

Fernando Alonso joked at Barcelona that his team could now "go to the America's Cup" with the yacht-like appendage, but its debut coincided with a notable step forward for the French outfit.

Red Bull Racing was the first to race with an engine cover fin this year, but Williams technical director Sam Michael said his team had previously experimented with the idea in the wind tunnel.

"Not everything we experiment with internally goes onto the car," he wrote in his column for the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell.

Michael, an Australian, said he first saw big engine cover fins in Champ Car, up to ten years ago.

But he revealed that when Williams tinkered with the idea, the team found that its aerodynamic efficiency was not good enough for most normal circuits.

"Maybe with their configuration, it works better for them," Michael mused, "so perhaps we will try to make it work for us in the future."