Last Updated on March 12 2025, 4:55 pm

The 2025 Formula One season will burst into life in less than two days and already there are accusations being made that certain teams are cheating with their car designs. Flexing bodywork has been banned in Formula One for as long as anyone can remember, yet teams find ways to defeat the FIA tests designed to prove this is occurring.

Last year McLaren were accused of using flexi-wings following their first big upgrade of the year which came in Miami. The wings passed the FIA static deflection tests but it was obvious from TV footage that under the extreme loads at high speed, the wings were in fact operating like a mini-DRS.

The FIA fumbled around like blind men in the dark over the matter, something Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was particularly unhappy about. As the summer break approached McLaren and Mercedes  appeared to be using excessive aero elasticity on their front wings too.

 

 

 

FIA slow to act

The FIA stepped up its surveillance of flexi wings cos the Belgian Grand Prix fitting cameras to select F1 cars in the field. Yet despite pressure from Ferrari and Red Bull, the wings were ruled legal, something which irritated the Ferrari boss.

“There was frustration because at one stage we were waiting for the decision of the FIA when they installed the cameras [from Spa]. 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 development],” he said.

Having given McLaren and Mercedes the all clear, the FIA issued a statement on the matter. “The front wing has been a challenging area throughout the years, because the aerodynamic loading patterns between different competitors varies and it is therefore difficult to find a load vector which will cover all types of front wing construction.

“Other areas of the car – including rear wing and floor edges – have much more consistent aerodynamic loading patterns across the grid, making for a more universal load-deflection test,” it read.

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McLaren change mini-DRS rear wing

McLaren did shortly after appear to change its rear wing design with the ‘mini-DRS’ but overall the FIA claimed there were no further plans to investigate the front wings any further, suggesting they would deal with the issue come the new 2026 regulations.

Then as pre-season testing approached in January, the FIA decided they would be expanding their static deflection tests from the Australian GP onwards and further that additional front wing tests would be introduced come the Spanish Grand Prix at the start of June.

This was a clear U-Turn from the comments made by Nicholas Tombazis (FIA head of singe seater racing) in December where he claimed the FIA were satisfied with the current tests. Technical Directive TD018 was immediately issued to all the teams informing them of their decision.

“As part of this effort, we will be increasing the scope of rear wing tests from the start of the 2025 season, and additional front wing tests being introduced from the Spanish GP,” read the directive. “This phased approach allows teams to adapt without the need to discard existing components unnecessarily.”

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More new tests announced for Australia

Following further complaints during pre-season F1 testing about certain teams using flexible bodywork, the FIA has again decided more action is required on the matter and pronto. The tests will start in less than two days as the Friday practice sessions get underway.

The analysis will be similar to that which the FIA undertook between the Belgian Grand Prix and Singapore last year only this time the cameras will be pointing at the rear wing.

This week the teams were notified of an update to TD034, which now instructs them to be prepared to install body work which can facilitative a rear facing camera. The FIA will monitor the images during Friday practice with target dots placed on the wings to measure how much they are moving.

As was the case for front wing flexibility, there is no clear method being used by the the teams to side step the intended regulations, hence the need for non-static tests for aero elasticity. Neither can the FIA instigate a catch all solution to the problem.

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McLaren new mini-DRS

Even during this year’s pre-season testing without the specific FIA rear facing cameras and measures, that some teams wings were flexing excessively whilst passing the static deflection tests.

For example, even with a lack of rear-facing footage being available during pre-season testing it quickly became apparent that everyone still had, to one degree or another, some mobility in their rear wing designs that might improve performance beyond the tolerances that are currently covered by the static load tests.

Most of there TV footage appeared to show certain wings tipping backwards when under load, thus reducing drag and improving top speed. Of course the teams will argue this is merely an effect of the huge loads imparted on F1 cars and that nothing can be infinitely rigid or it would break apart.

McLaren appear to have found another way of introducing a mini-DRS. Last year the properties of their wing under suspicion were quite different from this years. Then they utilised there front corner of the upper flap to curl upwards and open the slot gap partially even when DRS was not being deployed.

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New wing trick not covered by FIA regulations

Even without this design, the current McLaren wing appears to have a difference in the gap between the mainplane and tip section when the wing is loaded and unloaded, again without using DRS. “It is still going on,” says Pierre Wache, Red Bull’s Technical Director. “I think Ferrari and McLaren are doing the mini-DRS stuff still.”

McLaren slightly shot themselves in the foot when adding Flo-vis paint to their MCL39 in Bahrain testing, as it was clear the wing was not performing as it would traditionally be expected to. Again there are signs of a larger gap between the trailing edge of the mainplane and the tip.

Of course F1 engineers know the game is to understand the FIA regulations and find a way to circumvent them. McLaren’s new mini-DRS isn’t covered by the regulations they fell foul of [behind the scenes] last year, in article 3.15.17.

So the FIA will need to revise their technical regulations should McLaren be found to be using another trick to gain an advantage with reduced drag and higher top speeds.

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Wolff jokes about Hamilton’s start at Ferrari

In just three days, Lewis Hamilton will make his on track debut for Ferrari for serious. Having dropped a bombshell on his former boss Toto Wolff that he was leaving to join the Scuderia just months after signing a new Mercedes’ contract, the expectation was that his final year with the silver arrows might be difficult on a personal level. 

Wolff criticised the timing of Hamilton’s announcement when he faced the media for the first time since the news broke last year.  “The surprise was that I’ve heard the rumours a couple of days earlier, but wanted to wait for the breakfast we had planned and that was Wednesday morning. This was when he broke the news,” said the Mercedes F1 boss.

“I will always respect the difficulty of the situation that he faced and in the future we will discuss whether this could have been done in a different way or not. But I hold no grudge.”… READ MORE