After the Azerbaijan GP, teams questioned the legality of the MCL38’s rear wing because the upper element appeared to rotate backwards, opening a small gap. As a result, the FIA took a close look at the design.
While there is no doubt that the wing is fully compliant with current regulations and passes all static tests, the Papaya team has been asked to make some changes: McLaren will still be able to use the exact low-downforce wing used in Baku on the type of tracks it was designed for, but changes will be made to prevent the upper element from flexing in that way.
In this regard, the Woking team stated: “Although our Baku rear wing is compliant with the regulations and passes all FIA deflection tests, McLaren has offered to make some small modifications to the wing following discussions with the FIA. We expect the FIA to have similar discussions with other teams in relation to the compliance of their rear wings.”
The FIA regulation requirements are only concerned with passing static load tests, but there are other aspects of wing behaviour that also matter in terms of legality. These aspects have been clarified in a technical directive to teams, which states that while it is natural for parts to flex when exposed to increased aerodynamic load, the FIA does not consider components deliberately designed to move in a specific way to be flexing.
In document TD34, the FIA states that it does not consider legal “designs whose structural characteristics are altered by secondary parameters, so as to produce (during running on the track) a deflection characteristic different from those exhibited when stationary during FIA inspection. Examples of secondary parameters may be temperature, aerodynamic load, etc.”
The FIA’s decision to ask McLaren to modify its rear wing came in the wake of some unease from rivals over the design.
While the FIA had previously made clear the teams’ concerns regarding the flexible front wings, it had left the door open to the possibility of intervening on the rear.
This has removed all doubts from the teams that – if the McLaren project had been given the green light – could have started an arms race to try to further exploit the grey areas of the regulation.
A team boss told Motorsport.com: “Aerodynamic elasticity has been a topic of discussion for many years now, and even if a wing passes the FIA tests the rules remain very clear: the component cannot be designed to flex.”
“We rely on the FIA to say, ‘OK, what are the limits?’ Obviously everything bends to a certain extent, but what is acceptable and what is not?” We are starting to see extremes being exploited again, and I think it is up to the FIA to decide: is this OK, and then everyone will fall in line, or, as per the regulation, as it is written, is it compliant?”
“There’s a big dispersion of who’s doing what at the moment, obviously with a lot of interest in the McLaren rear wing after Baku and a performance difference emerging – obviously. That’s why everyone is trying to understand. But it’s just a question of knowing what’s sensible and what’s a joke.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
In the team principals’ press conference, Fred Vasseur and James Vowles also spoke out on the subject. Both expressed concern, with Vasseur in particular highlighting the confusion that has arisen between what happened with the front and rear wings.
“We all agree that the front wing could be a grey area, because the first paragraph of the technical regulation says that you cannot design part of the car with the intention of deformation, but the intention is difficult to manage.”
“The story of the rear wing is completely different, because in the article you also have a maximum deflection, and this is white or black. It’s not gray, or dark gray, or light gray. It’s black. And for me it’s clear.”
The Williams team principal also wanted to specify the substantial difference that distinguishes the controversies related to the front wings from those regarding the rear wings:
“There is an understanding in the pit lane about the front wing. On the rear wing, I have seen various images, I cannot personally evaluate what it does or does not do, all we have to do is trust the FIA, who carry out their checks in the correct way, but there is an intention behind the way we are working on the cars aerodynamically.”
Vasseur agreed that the FIA should deal with the issue and no one else, but he nevertheless highlighted his frustration with what happened in Italy and Azerbaijan, especially because for him things are obvious.
“I think it’s more than ‘on the edge’. We’ve seen all the videos and pictures of this situation, and it’s a bit frustrating when, if you remember the situation in Monza, we had five cars within two hundredths of a second, and you go from P1 or P2 to P5 or P6 for two hundredths of a second. In Baku we were side by side at Turn 1 for 10 laps in a row, so you can imagine there’s a bit of frustration.”
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