The tale of the bendy wings in F1 is a long and well documented story. Under the current regulations ‘moveable aero parts’ other than the DRS are banned. Since the Drag Reduction System was introduced, this restriction has been in place and the FIA state either front or rear wings must remain rigid under their standard deflection tests.

Unfortunately loading a static F1 car’s wing with a weight does not fully replicate the conditions the wing is subjected to when travelling around a circuit at speeds of up to 200mph. So FR1 engineers and designers are intensely interested in how to create a wing that bends while passing the FIA’s tests.

A wing which deflects at higher speeds allows and F1 car to reach higher speeds. However, the more wing angle there is for the corners, the more grip the driver feels and the less he degrades the tyres. So the perfect wing is one which would lie flat along the straights and pop up by up to 90 degrees on demand through the turns.

 

 

 

Wolff threatens legal action

There’s been a number of bust ups over the years between various F1 teams who believes a competitor is gaining an ‘illegal’ advantage with a bendy wing design. The most recent was during the infamous 2021 season where relationships between Red Bull and Mercedes were visceral.

As the teams took the streets of Monaco, Toto Wolff threatened the FIA with the International Court of Appeal unless the FIA took action more quickly. The issue was first raised after the Spanish Grand Prix when Hamilton questioned the advantage Red Bull may have gained from what he described as a “bendy” rear wing.

“It is incomprehensible that in four weeks you can’t stiffen up a rear wing for the track that is most affected by a flexible rear wing,” Wolff said. “Delaying the introduction [of new tests] for whatever reason leaves us in a legal vacuum and leaves the door open for protests. Not only us but probably two other teams that are most affected, maybe more and a protest could end up in the ICA and that is a messy situation.”

Of course Red Bull denied doing anything outside the rules with Christian Horner claiming their car has passed each and every FIA load test. He also defended the FIA’s decision to allow four weeks notice of their new loading tests.

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Horner defends FIA

“There has to be a lead time, you can’t expect parts to be magicked up overnight,” Said Horner. “The car complies to the regulations that have been there for the last 18 months and then the test has been changed. There has to be a notice period for that.”

Ferrari however did need to change their wing design as Mattia Binotto admitted the team were “pushing the rules to the limit.”

Of course the febrile atmosphere in the paddock during 2021 blew the issue somewhat out of proportion. There is a bendy wing issue going on this season, yet the matter has not been blown out of all proportions.

Red Bull Racing believe Mercedes and McLaren have wings which are more bendy than they should be. The FIA stated they would investigate the issue by fitting cameras to different team’s cars to measure the deflection when the wing was under full load.

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Red Bull new bendy wing ready

Yet there has been no information on the findings to date released by F1’s governing body which in all likeliness means Red Bull and others will be fitting wings of similar design in the near future.

Its not necessarily just the construction methods of the wing which allows movement, but also the shape of the surface collecting ever more airflow. McLaren’s rear wing looked unique with almost a whirlpool effect in the middle, which is something Mercedes have copied.

Red Bull are apparently ready before the FIA give their final decisions to progress with a similar rear wing. Dutch F1 commentator, Olav Mol tells Ziggo Sports: “Red Bull already said that if the McLaren and Mercedes wings were approved, they will also go in that direction. I think they (Red Bull) already have a wing like that on the car now. I think they’ve pulled these parts out of the cupboard again.”

Mol continues that the Red Bull wing in Belgium was “more rigid” but the team having seen what Mercedes and McLaren have been doing here moving already in that direction.

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Verstappen admits a set up mistake

Whether the magic Red Bull bendy wing is ready for Singapore, we’ll see in a couple of days yet it was striking how upbeat Max Verstappen was given this weekends loss in Baku was his seventh in a row. Only a late setup change by Max just before qualifying appeared to be the matter he lamented.

“We changed the setup after FP3 and obviously overshot the target,” said the Dutchman. “But basically, we have improved the car a bit. We are still fine-tuning it, but it is better than before.”

Dr. Marko appeared to agree with his protégé, noting “without one of Max’s rare mistakes” in Q3, the triple world champion “was just as fast as (Charles) Leclerc,” who was on pole.

Despite another weekend where Red Bull had the third fastest car, Verstappen got out of jail due to Lando Norris poor qualifying. The McLaren driver came through the field to finish just off the podium and one place ahead of the current world champion.

Yet the two points for his position and the additional point for fastest lap still sees Norris 59 points behind Max and with seven Grand Prix and three Sprint event weekends.

FIA cockup costs Norris early qualifying exit

 

 

 

Horner makes strange claim about Perez

Just when Sergio Perez thought it was safe to go out in the F1 paddock in Baku, a last lap battle with Charles Leclerc saw the Mexican driver lose out to his team mate once again. Checo was on for a podium finish when he bailed out of a late overtake move on Charles Leclerc.

The Ferrari driver looked doomed having reported his rear tyres were finished two laps earlier, yet somehow Perez decided he couldn’t complete the overtake backing out and taking the inside line. Carlos Sainz seeing an opportunity went around the outside and was ahead as the pair dulled out of turn two in Baku.

Replays suggests Perez was unlucky as Sainz thinking he had more room than he did, began to move towards the centre of the track. He hooked Sergio’s right front with his rear left and the pair were in the wall in a split second… READ MORE