Aston Martin: Flexi-wing clampdown could cost some F1 teams 0.5s
Aston Martin thinks that the FIA’s imminent clampdown on flexi-wings could cost some Formula 1 teams up to 0.5 seconds per lap.


A number of outfits, including Red Bull, Ferrari, Alpine and Alfa Romeo, have been using clever aero designs to flex their wings at high speed for a straightline boost.
However, the FIA is concerned that their designs could be in breach of rules that outlaw moveable aerodynamic devices, so are introducing tougher rear wing tests from the French Grand Prix.
While the exact lap time benefit from the flexi-wings is hard to be completely sure about, Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer reckons that at some tracks it could be in the region of half a second.
Plus, it is also of more value to higher rake cars where the natural angle of the aerodynamics are in a position that deliver more drag than a low-rake concept.
“It’s very track-specific,” said Szafnauer. “At some tracks, it doesn’t help much at all, and at others, to have a flexi rear-wing does help.
“I think a little bit, it will come our way [low-rake] a little bit, maybe by on average a couple of tenths of a second per lap or something. But there are some tracks where you get zero benefit, and others it could be up to half a second.”

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
Aston Martin says its initial analysis shows that it will not have to make any changes to the design of its rear wing to comply with the new tests.
Szafnauer has also backed the view of Mercedes and McLaren in that the delay in introducing the new tests until the French Grand Prix is not right.
He suggests that the leeway given is too long, and thinks teams have the capacity to stiffen rear wings quite quickly.
Read Also:
“To design something that flexes just the right amount and passes the test but still flexes, takes a big effort,” he said. “But to design something that is stiff doesn’t take effort at all. And it can be done very, very quickly.”
Szafnauer also confirmed that its discussions with the FIA regarding the implementation of the aero rule changes for this year, which hurt low-rake teams like Aston Martin more, had reached a satisfactory conclusion.
“I think that’s been put to bed,” he said. “We’ve had good conversations and discussions, trying to understand the process and how it transpired. I think there won’t be anything going forward.”
Related video

Horner: Verstappen may be getting under Hamilton’s skin
How AlphaTauri is taming the Tsunoda ‘thunderstorm’

Latest news
How one of F1’s greatest names was revived
With its eponymous Formula 1 team falling into obscurity in the 90s, the Brabham name looked relegated to the manufacturers' history books. But after a long legal battle, the family reclaimed its rights and in 2018 launched Brabham Automotive. David Brabham discusses what came next for the iconic brand
Tsunoda rates start to F1 2022 season as 7/10
Yuki Tsunoda believes he has made a measurable improvement as a driver during his second season in Formula 1, rating his year to date as seven out of 10.
Norris: Imola F1 podium still "blows my mind" given McLaren's pace
Lando Norris says his third-place finish at Imola still "blows my mind" given McLaren's pace compared to its Formula 1 rivals, calling it "one of my best podiums."
Ferrari's F1 2022 engine gains greatest for more than 25 years
Ferrari's engine gains for the 2022 Formula 1 season are the greatest it has managed in more than 25 years, according to team principal Mattia Binotto.
How a bad car creates the ultimate engineering challenge
While creating a car that is woefully off the pace is a nightmare scenario for any team, it inadvertently generates the test any engineering department would relish: to turn it into a winner. As Mercedes takes on that challenge in Formula 1 this season, McLaren’s former head of vehicle engineering reveals how the team pulled of the feat in 2009 with Lewis Hamilton
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…