New tests to clamp down on ‘bendy’ rear wings
The FIA is to introduce new rear-wing flexibility tests ahead of next month’s French Grand Prix amid concerns that some teams are exploiting the Formula 1 rules.
Questions over the design of the Red Bull rear wing in particular were floated during the recent Spanish GP after Lewis Hamilton suggested its design was “bendy”. The inference was that Red Bull could be exploiting a more flexible wing that rotates down on the straights to boost top speed, but then reverts up into a normal position for the corners to provide maximum downforce.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was adamant that the team’s wing design had passed all the current pullback tests used to test the rigidity of the designs, and that the FIA was “completely happy with the car”.
But sources revealed to Autosport last week that the
FIA has written to all teams and informed them that it is concerned that teams are exploiting designs that pass the static tests but still flex at speed. In the note, a copy of which has been seen by Autosport, the FIA states that it is aware of designs that comply with the current tests but “nonetheless exhibit excessive deflections while the cars are in motion”.
It adds: “We believe that such deformations can have a significant influence on the car’s aerodynamic performance.”
In response to its concerns, the FIA has stated that it is to enact a clause in F1’s technical regulations that allows it to introduce new tests. The FIA will focus on the behaviour of wings as they rotate backwards, with the tests set to include limiting the rear wing to just one degree of rotation from an axis normal to the centre plane when two rearward and horizontal 750N loads are applied at a set location. A further test, involving a 1000N vertical and downward force, will similarly allow just one degree of rotation.
The hope is that the tests will clamp down on teams trying to push the boundaries with clever designs that move when out on the track in a way that cannot currently be checked when the car is stationary.
The existing designs will remain unchecked for the next two races, in Monaco and Azerbaijan.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told Autosport that “it’s not just Red Bull being targeted” by the clampdown, suggesting that both Alfa Romeo and Alpine have been spotted with flexing rear wings. “It is certainly not a disadvantage that is decisive for the world championship,” said Marko. “It is quite normal. We had to readjust the front wings two or three times a season during our successful world championship period.”