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Brawn: Flexi-tests may need tweaking

F1 teams and the FIA should consider further ramping up the flexible bodywork tests if there is a belief among technical chiefs that some outfits are still able to run their front wings close to the ground

That is the view of Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn, who thinks the return of talk of flexi-wings in the paddock should be used as an opportunity for the sports' competitors to agree among themselves if something needs to be done to stamp out the suspicions.

With images posted on the internet, plus video footage of the Red Bull Racing car at Suzuka, appearing to show that its front wings can still run closer to the ground than the team's rivals, there has been some discussion among teams about the issue that flared up earlier this season.

Brawn does not believe that Red Bull Racing is doing anything illegal, but thought it would be good for the sport's stakeholders to agree on introducing more stringent tests to clear the matter up.

"I don't think we should describe it as suspicious," he said about the latest controversy about flexi-wings.

"I think the difficulty is that those [wing] tests, people comply with those tests and if the teams and the FIA feel that things are not correct then we have to change the tests. If the teams feel, and the FIA feels that there are some abnormalities, then we have to change the tests."

When asked by AUTOSPORT whether he felt there were any abnormalities himself, Brawn said: "It [the Red Bull Racing wing] is running pretty close to the ground this weekend, you can see that again, but it is part of the game - and they are playing it better than some of the rest of us."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who was outspoken about the flexi-wing issue earlier this season, said his outfit had bigger issues to worry about at the moment than what Red Bull Racing was up to.

"To be honest we've had a pretty busy weekend," he said when asked about the new flexi-wing issue.

"I've been told about it - but I personally have not seen it - and we will concentrate on what we are doing here. A number of teams have pointed something out to me, and I am sure if they have got the information then they can pursue it [themselves]."

Red Bull Racing has consistently denied that it has done anything with its car design to get around the flexible wing regulations, and its RB6 has passed all the FIA tests that it has been subject to.

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