FIA reveal plans for Flexi-wing testing – The 2024 Formula One season was a relatively quite one in terms of accusations of teams cheating when compared to two seasons ago and the explosive volcano of protest which erupted when Red Bull were found in a minor breach of the cost cap.

However, the issue of illegal moveable aero parts has been rumbling on for the past two seasons. Under the current regulations there must be no moveable aero parts on the cars other than the sanctioned DRS which can be used at times to assist with overtaking.

The FIA has historically tested the flexibility particularly of the front and rear wings by using a static deflection test. This simply means attaching a weight to the components being tested to see if gravity creates some kind of movement from within the part.

 

 

 

McLaren/Mercedes fortunes change

Of course all F1 teams wings pass the standard deflection test which can be administered by the FIA officials at any point during the season. Yet still when the cars are on track, deflections appear which suggests the wings are too bendy and/or are evading the intent of the FIA.

Come the start of the 2024 European F1 season, McLaren and Mercedes were accused of using flexible wings on their F1 cars, which coincided with a downturn in form for Red Bull and Max Verstappen, but during the ten race win drought for the world champion from Austria onwards Mercedes and Ferrari won three Grand Prix with McLaren claiming four victories.

A flexible wing would mean a car has the required downforce for cornering, but sheds its load at speed as the wind resistance grows along the straight. This creates a clear advantage and is against the F1 design regulations yet despite complaints being aired, the FIA appeared to drag its feet before finally issued a Technical Directive for the Belgian Grand Prix. This stated that going forward a number of c are each weekend would be fitted with sensors which could accurately measure the levels of defection with the car at speed.

Ferrari and Red Bull had decided not invest valuable resources in their own versions of the McLaren and Mercedes wings fearing they wold eventually be ruled illegal as Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur explained.

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Ferrari ‘lost’ two months

“There was frustration because at one stage we were waiting for the decision of the FIA when they installed the cameras [from Spa],” motorsport.com reported. “We were convinced that it will go for the ‘no go’. And it went for the ‘go’! So probably we lost one or two months.”

Of course in the pre-cost cap days Ferrari and Red Bull would have just developed out their version of the flexi-wing whether they ever got to run it or not, but given the restriction on resources now in place, these kind of speculative in season developments are evaluated more closely.

The FIA ultimately declared all the wings tested to be legal and informed the teams no further rule changes would be enforced before the end of the season. However, the real reason the FIA decided against a new kind of testing for flexi-wings was because they cold’t design a test that wold cover all eventualities.

“We are pretty happy with what we’ve seen,” the head of single seater racing, Nicholas Tombazis told Autosport. “I hasten to say that it’s not a question always of being happy or not. “It’s also a question of whether you feel that a meaningful test can be made.

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No real world test possible

“One of the challenges in the front wing is that, compared to other parts of the car, the front wing loading is much more varied between cars in a given location and so on.

“So most tests relate to the load of a certain direction, certain position of application, certain magnitude must not produce a [certain] deformation.”

Here the FIA are admitting there is no real world test possible which takes into consideration how the component relates to the rest of the aerodynamic principles in play from car to car.

“The most successful such tests imitate as much as possible what happens in real life with loads and, on the earlier wing for example, it’s reasonably successful. On the front wing, the variety between cars would make that quite difficult.”

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Immediate impact with new wing at Ferrari

Having made the announcement, the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull set about developing their own versions of the flexi-wings during the seasons two closing triple header weekends. Yet it remained unclear as to whether the FIA wold introduce further tests for 2025, something they now say they will not.

Once given the all clear, Ferrari lost no time in introducing its own flexi wing in Singapore. Fine tuning saw Ferrari take a 1-2 in the following USGP and a victory for Carlos Sainz the week after in Mexico.

The Ferrari team boss explained why the team were late with their version of the McLaren wing. “It’s difficult because with the cost cap you have to make your choices. It means that if you are convinced that it won’t be allowed, and you have start to develop something, then it’s costing you a time in the wind tunnel. But it was our decision.”

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No changes to tests for 2025

Of course both Ferrari and Red Bull could have gambled as did McLaren and as the Scuderia closed in on the papaya liveried team for the team championship, it was clear the actual cost of their decision to delay.

Now the FIA have revealed there will be no new test for flexible wings coming in 2025. “Obviously, there was a lot of hoo-hah about it during the summer and early autumn,” Tombazis concludes. “We had made it quite clear to teams since 2022 at least, that we were not planning to introduce any further tests on the front wing and we stuck to that.”

Come 2026 the ban on moveable aero parts will change significantly and it appears the FIA technical department prefer to concentrate on the new challenges ahead rather than fixing a problem they have no solution for at present.

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Hulkenberg identifies Hamilton weakness

Nico Hulkenberg is one of the elder statesman of Formula One and at 37 years of age is entering the twilight of his career in the sport. The German was signed as a Formula One test driver for AT&T Williams back in 2007 and became only the fifth GP2 champion two seasons later.

Yet is was to be 2010 before the rising German star was offered a full time F1 seat with the historic British racing marque and Hulkenberg was to claim a pole position in his maiden year and finish a respectable fourteenth in the drivers championship. Yet Williams decided to drop him for the following season and so Nico became the test/reserve driver for the Silverstone based team, which at the time went by the name Force India.

Hulkenberg replaced Adrian Sutil as a full time driver for the team during the 2012 campaign and he delivered an average finish of P10 in the drivers’ championship over the next four seasons…. READ MORE