McLarens strange aero device

Image courtesy f1fanatic.co.uk
At this stage of testing, if anyone can definitively say that McLaren is working on a major problem, they are better at reading tea leaves than me. This is an interesting device which obviously takes some effort to provide for use on the car out on a track. Since they have deeper pockets than most, I would not disbelieve their explanation in trying to provide some real-world data to compare with wind tunnel and virtual test data for use later in the season. Time will tell if they really have an issue or not... my guess is that they don't, as their Valencia tests were probably done with more fuel than the others and they may have been easing into the cars' performance since the design is different than last seasons'. Fast will only be an issue once every top team is running the same configuration or it is announced by a team that they are running with a full tank or less. The fuel issue is the gorilla in the room at this stage... every team has to account for it and then also allowances for lower weights (aerodynamics, ride height, wheel loading, acceleration and braking differences, etc)
I suppose that it's just "part of the deal" that none of us comletely believe any statement made by any of the teams in F1. They certainly have earned our distrust!!! With all of the lying and politics that reign supreme in our sport, it's amazing that any cars actually manage to get to the grid for any given race...But, there may be some truth to what McLaren released to the press. The aero testing on track is similar BUT NOT the same as in the wind tunnel or on a computer generated wind flow chart. So, if their car was a dog early last year, they may very well be making sure that this year's car hits the first track in top form. If Hamilton had had a good car for the first few races of 2009 he may very well have been champion instead of Jenson.
With an unreasonable limit to testing teams have got to maximise the information they get. It makes life harder for the drivers as they become test drivers instead of getting used to rhe car. This is all right for experienced drivers, but other for new teams with rookie drivers it is a disadvantage. Limited full course testing should be allowed during the season. It would negate the advantage the teasm with a better car from the start of the season have and improve the competition as the season progresses.