F1 | Stella: “Teams distracted by mini-DRS”. And he counterattacks his rivals

In recent weeks, especially after Baku, the “mini-DRS” case on the McLaren wing has attracted a lot of attention, raising doubts about its legality. Despite having passed all the technical checks and bending tests, which are what determines the actual legality of a solution during the race weekend, on the eve of the Singapore Grand Prix there was no shortage of controversy from rival teams, claiming that the wing went too far beyond some of the limits of the regulation.

In fact, the Woking team had designed the wing so that the upper element flexed above a certain speed, thus allowing the gap between the flap and the mainplane to be increased. This allowed a greater passage of air towards the ends of the flap, reducing drag and increasing straight-line speed. Clearly, this is not an expedient that can be applied everywhere, also because, if this “play” of the wing was also applied on high-load tracks, where such high speeds are rarely reached, the risk would be to compromise aerodynamic stability when cornering.

Following discussions with the FIA, McLaren has agreed to make changes to reduce the flex that was seen on its cars at the Belgian, Italian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, three events where low-downforce wings were used due to the characteristics of the tracks. Although this request will prevent the Woking team from using the wing at Las Vegas, the only other event where it might have actually made sense, McLaren are not worried.

Clearly, if the team has invested in this solution, there must be a benefit, also because there is a long work of understanding the characteristics of the materials and their flexibility, as also seen on the front wing. On the other hand, it is believed that the advantage obtained is not so marked, without considering that, in fact, it would have come into play only in Las Vegas in the rest of this championship. Realistically, moreover, the teams would have had the opportunity to replicate the solution with the ok of the FIA, especially in view of next year.

“I think all this focus on our rear wing is only good news, because it means the opposition is not focusing on themselves,” said the McLaren Team Principal.

“Formula 1 is such a marginal game. It’s so complicated. I keep telling my team: ‘Let’s focus on ourselves’. So for me, when I see that there is so much attention from other teams, it means that they will be working, they will be analyzing, they will be talking, but they are doing it with the FIA.”

“They are using this time and energy to chase something else. So for me, as McLaren, it is only good news. We try to stay focused on ourselves. We want to propose technical solutions that can be challenging, but absolutely valid from a legal point of view. If others want to be destructive, they can continue to do so. Because for us it is only good news.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Speaking about the FIA’s request to modify the wing, which McLaren continues to maintain was in fact agreed, Stella says he is not worried about any impact on performance, also bearing in mind that the wing would only be used in one Grand Prix between now and the end of the season. Added to this is the consideration that, behind the scenes, the FIA ​​must also examine solutions adopted by other teams.

“For us, making changes is pretty much transparent, so we might as well do it, as there won’t be any major consequences in terms of performance,” Stella said. It should be remembered that the decision is not retroactive, affecting previous GP results, not only because this approach has been maintained several times by the FIA, but also because McLaren itself passed the legality tests during the technical verification.

“It also gave us the opportunity to remind the FIA ​​that, you know, we are also watching the other teams. We don’t want to spend a lot of energy and time with journalists and try to create big stories. We just told the FIA ​​what we think is happening. We trust, and we are confident, that they will talk to the other teams and make sure they solve their problems, which may be less visible, but they certainly exist.”

Although Stella did not want to get into the merits, the issue of the flexibility of the wings actually plays a role in this story: “I will not be precise, because I would reveal information that I believe falls within the scope of confidentiality. For some reason, this gap [di flessibilità] It seems to have become a theme that dominates F1. There are lots of ways in which other cars exploit aerodynamic pressure on surfaces – in fact, based on our analysis, some of them are much more effective.”

“But we trust the FIA. They are very competent people from a technical point of view. To be honest, when we have discussions with them, we see that not only do they understand the mechanisms, but they also understand what is happening with our competitors. They always seem quite equipped to understand if some of the tests are suitable, limiting some mechanisms or how the aerodynamic pressure acts on the various surfaces.”