TWG to consider new flexi-wing tests

The subject of flexi-wings has been a hot topic in recent weeks following the controversy surrounding Ferrari's front and rear wings at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Rival teams were ready to protest Michael Schumacher's car before the FIA stepped in to resolve the situation.

The Maranello team duly joined McLaren and BMW in modifying their wings for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, bringing a temporary resolution to the situation that has run since the season-opener in Bahrain.

But although sources close to the FIA have confirmed that it is now happy no teams are running with illegal flexi-wings, further changes to the regulations will be pushed for at the next meeting of F1 think-tank, the Technical Working Group (TWG).

In particular, the technical directors will be asked to consider a revision of the way wings are tested to ensure that no teams can design wings that illegally flex at speed.

Rather than test the wings with the current specific forces applied to the wings at specific points, it is understood that the FIA wants to push for a more general rule of physical inspection - such as forcing teams to fit external supports to wing-elements to guarantee they cannot flex.

Honda Racing technical director Geoff Willis believes that the fixing of such supports would certainly prevent teams from running flexible rear wing elements.

"If you were looking at the upper rear-wing then most of the gains that people have played over the years were either to open the flap gap or close it," he said.

"If you have a design that is quite clear to see, that it can't change, that is has a central snubber and the tips are connected to each other, then it is going to be easy to say it is okay."

Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne reckons that there was no need for new tests to be introduced, however, because the FIA is already allowed to do anything it wants to check teams are complying with the regulations.

He suggested that FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting could have taken a harder line against teams, especially because the matter was discussed as the most recent TWG meeting.   

"In this case, Charlie (Whiting) has obviously used his discretion, and in the past I think there have always been areas where he has said, 'okay, that it not what we want to see so fix it,'" he explained.

"From my point of view, in this case I think that approach is a little relaxed because it is not as though it is something we have not talked about in the TWG.

"If you find someone doing it, when you just discussed it in the last meeting, then I would have hoped he would have taken a firmer stance on it. But this is definitely something that needs clearing up - he definitely has all the powers that he needs to do something about it."