The Sprint Qualifying grid in the Sao Paulo GP is sub-judice: the two contenders for the world title are under investigation and risk being excluded from the qualifying results due to important violations of the F1 regulations.
At the end of the timed session there was an escalation of facts that have not yet found a certain answer: Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes during the check was found to be irregular in the height between the mobile flap and the main profile of the wing. rear, while Max Verstappen is under accusation for having touched his opponent’s wing in a parc fermé, where only the FIA technical stewards are authorized to intervene.
Hamilton’s Mercedes in parc fermé: the rear wing of the W12 is under investigation
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
A decision on the two episodes has not yet been taken because the board of sports commissioners, of which Vitantonio Liuzzi is a member, have updated the preliminary investigation to the morning of Brazil.
Let’s try to shed some light on what happened.
What’s wrong with Hamilton’s DRS?
FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer sent a report to the stewards on Friday evening stating that Hamilton’s rear wing did not comply with F1 rules.
“The positions of the rear wing movable flap have been checked on single-seater number 44 with regard to the compliance established by article 3.6.3 of the F1 2021 technical regulation. The minimum distance requirement has been met, while the maximum distance requirement has been met. among the 85 mm elements, when the DRS system was verified in accordance with TD / 011-19, it was not satisfied. I refer the question to the commissioners for their considerations. “
Article 3.6.3 of the F1 technical regulation clarifies that when the wing is in its closed position, the space between the two flaps “must be between 10 mm and 15 mm”.
Here is the closed mobile flap which must be at least 10 mm away from the main profile
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Here is the open movable flap which cannot be at a distance greater than 85 mm from the main profile
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
However, when the flap is open (as above) – then the distance between the elements must be “between 10mm and 85mm”. With the DRS open, therefore, there cannot be more than 85 mm between the two elements of the wing because with a greater distance it could be obtained a reduction of the drag and an increase in the maximum speed.
How is it checked?
Detail of the Aston Martin template with which the distance between the two rear wing profiles is verified
Photo by: Aston Martin
The FIA has no tools to verify the correct distance between two wing profiles when the cars are on the track. The technical commissioners carry out a check that is carried out in a parc fermé with the car stationary.
In the TD / 011-19 it is clearly specified how the control of the FIA must take place which uses a specific template to guarantee the conformity of the opening: there are two discs (one of 10 mm and the other of 85 mm plus tolerances) which they must be pushed between the flaps with an applied force of 20 N. If the template passes without any resistance it is evident that the solution is illegal.
The template also has the teams and you can see how Aston Martin’s is, below.
Detail of the Aston Martin template for controlling the rear wing
Photo by: Aston Martin
At Interlagos we saw an FIA technical commissioner carrying out the check and Jo Bauer resuming the check with a mobile phone to testify the conformity of the procedure.
What is the explanation?
Mercedes has so far not expressed opinions on the matter which is very delicate and will be discussed by the college of sports commissioners today. In the event of a small violation (0.1-0.2 mm) it is possible that good faith will be recognized, while with a greater spacing it could trigger a very heavy measure for sports fraud that could lead to exclusion from the race and to the halving of the points in the championship.
Hamilton’s wing has been seized for now, pending further analysis today. Apparently this is a wing that has been used during the year and has not been modified. So it must be clarified why there was a measure different from the regulatory one.
The teams’ material arrived very late in the Interlagos paddock on Thursday
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
And here it is worth remembering that the team material arrived at Interlagos late, so the preparation of the cars was done more hastily than usual. In addition to being able to adjust the height of the mobile flap on the side panels, it is possible to perform a fine tuning by acting on the actuator of the DRS which is adjustable. In the rush of the hectic Brazilian weekend, it may also be that the last check was less accurate than usual and a small discrepancy emerged.
The investigation supplement, therefore, will serve to demonstrate the good faith of the Mercedes team, otherwise the toughest measure would have already taken place last night, but due to negligence we would not be surprised if Lewis Hamilton was punished by starting at the bottom of the grid by taking away the times. qualifications.
And then we will probably see the duelists of the world championship at the bottom of the grid because Verstappen also risks punishment for having touched the wing of the Mercedes in a parc fermé, a maneuver strictly prohibited by the regulation. The rule is clear, although Max’s palpatine could not have altered the geometry of the W12’s flaps. Double sentence or double acquittal?
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