Mercedes' "two-phase" front wing activation a reliability issue, not an exploit

Mercedes' peculiar straight mode activation of its front wing, which caught the attention of some of its Formula 1 rivals, was the result of a reliability issue rather than a deliberate exploit, Autosport has learned.

Mercedes caught the eye of its rivals at the Chinese Grand Prix when footage emerged of maiden race winner Kimi Antonelli as his front wing appeared to close in two separate stages at the end of the straight. This raised various theories about whether or not the Brackley team was doing something sinister to gain an advantage.

Teams can only have two different front and rear wing positions between corner mode and straight mode, and as per the FIA regulations, there is a 400-millisecond window to transition from one mode to the other.

Antonelli's wing appeared to change stance twice, falling outside of the window, with it understood that one unnamed F1 team raised a question about the issue to the FIA. Mercedes' main 2026 rival Ferrari denied being behind the query.

But on Thursday morning, Autosport learned that the phenomenon was the result of a reliability issue, presumably related to a lack of hydraulic pressure, to revert the wing to its upwards position.

It is understood the FIA has accepted the Mercedes team's explanation, and its willingness to remedy the issue as soon as possible suggested to the governing body that the team was seeing the front wing problem as a performance drain rather than a benefit, as it upsets the car's aero balance an additional time before entering a braking zone.

Mercedes Japanese GP livery

Photo by: Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team