Ferrari and Red Bull set for FIA talks amid fresh McLaren/Mercedes flexi-wing intrigue

Ferrari and Red Bull want clarification from the FIA about how far flexi-wings can be exploited in F1, amid fresh intrigue over the designs of McLaren and Mercedes.

Flexi-wings have become a talking point this season, as teams have found making use of this area key to overcoming some of the intrinsic balance problems that dog the current generation of ground-effect cars.

In response to growing interest in the paddock over the matter, the FIA began a series of video checks of various designs at the Belgian Grand Prix in a bid to better understand what competitors were up to.

The governing body made it clear that its move was an information-gathering exercise rather than aimed at finding out if any teams are breaking the rules.

The ultimate aim is to work out if the current load tests used to check the flexibility of wings remain fit for purpose for the long term.

The FIA has said several times that it has no interest in making any rule changes this season and, if it feels it needs to react, that this will only take place from the start of 2025 at the earliest.

However, the growing competitive form of the Mercedes and McLaren teams in recent months – allied to some interesting onboard footage of wings flexing, rotating and flapping at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix – has prompted competitors to question whether their designs go too far.

It is understood that Ferrari and Red Bull, aware from previous discussions that the FIA is happy with the current cars, want to get a better idea from FIA technical chief Nikolas Tombazis of exactly what is and is not allowed so they can exploit this area better if needed.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF after qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix: “The front wing of McLaren and Mercedes must be analysed.”

Asked by media if he shared Red Bull’s interest in the flexi-wing situation, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said: “This is a discussion that I don’t want to have with you, I will have it with Tombazis.

“But we have to respect the decision of the FIA. We will have, again, the discussion…”

He added: “We have to deal [with] it internally with the FIA.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explained at the Italian Grand Prix that he had to trust the FIA over the matter.

“I think the regulations are very clear and that's an FIA issue,” he said. “Obviously they are tested and they pass, but then you have to look at the wording of the regulations.

“But, if you remember back in ’21, certainly around Baku time, there was a change to the front wing regulations, even though our wings passed the test [at the time]. It’s an FIA issue, so we'll leave it and trust in them to deal with it.”

Asked if further clarity from the FIA that rival designs were all good meant that Red Bull would have to pursue such ideas itself, Horner said: “Well, if it's acceptable then you have to join in.” 

Technical playground

The FIA has long tried to keep control of teams exploiting aerodynamic elasticity, with the technical regulations making clear how static loads will be applied to wings to ensure they comply with the regulations.

Teams, however, know that as long as their wings pass these tests in the garage, then extra flexibility out of track can be exploited.

Mercedes W15 technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Speaking earlier this year about the new Mercedes front wing that featured more flexible elements, technical director James Allison explained that teams all knew where the boundaries were.

“I think that all of us are trying to ensure that we pass the FIA's flexibility test,” he said. “They put loads on and you've got to not move by more than an amount.

“Provided you can do that and provided your wing is just bending like a thing bends when it has load on it, then there's no drama to be faced with the governing body.”

However, he also said there was a line to be drawn between wings that naturally flexed at load, and those that were specifically designed to behave in a certain way at set speeds.

“I don't think it would be legit to have a thing that does stuff at given speeds,” he said.

“I think something that just bends the more load you put on it, that is what all materials do. So I think that's the playground most people are in.” 

In a still valid technical directive (TD34) from the FIA, it has emphasised that there are certain behaviours that will not be tolerated even if wings are passed as legal in the pits.

In the note, the FIA says that it does not consider legal “designs whose structural characteristics are altered by secondary parameters, so as to produce (whilst running at the track) a different deflection characteristic than when stationary during the FIA checks. Examples of secondary parameters could be temperature, aerodynamic load etc.”