At the race weekend of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Aston Martin caused a sensation when a new rear wing equipped with a very interesting solution appeared on the AMR22s of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll.
Thanks to a clever interpretation of the rules, Aston Martin has allowed the return of a more traditional wing design which has thus helped to increase downforce.
Although the concept had been approved by the FIA - deemed legal, as we told you just minutes after seeing the wing in Budapest – the rival teams had questioned the legality of the solution. There was concern that the new design could result in increased airflow disturbances from the rear wing.
This, had it been true, could have compromised the cars’ ability to follow Aston Martins closely, as is required by regulation.
However, Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullogh revealed that the FIA, in addition to being satisfied with the regulatory aspect of the project, was also pleased that the concept did not affect the intent of the rules, which is that to encourage duels in the competition.
Detail of the rear wing of the Aston Martin AMR22
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
“We made sure everything was okay, because the intent of the rules must always remain the same and it has remained so. We were able to demonstrate with simulations that it has no material effect on this aspect.”
“The whole single-seater philosophy is dominant, while the wing idea is only a small part of it.”
McCullough explained that Aston Martin went through several months of audits with the FIA to make sure his idea of the wing was totally legal before giving the green light to its production.
“We have spent months, from our initial interpretation and our understanding, discussing with the technical department of the FIA,” he said.
“Then we got to the point that, after doing several rounds of discussion, they agreed that we had met all the technical regulations.”
“We therefore decided to make it, and that’s why it took some time to get to the track. It took several months from first contact to full approval by the FIA.”
“Then, once approval is obtained, we proceed to design and production. Then all the projects are presented before the race weekend. Again, the FIA has to make sure that it is still satisfied, and it does. And then it does. it is mounted on the machine “.
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