Flexible wings, what’s going on
The Germans of Cars, Motor and Sport they had told in recent days a certain nervousness on the part of Red Bull regarding the flexibility of the front wings of some rival teams, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes. All aerodynamic appendages deemed regulatory by the Federationwhich subjects them to loads of 60 newtons in several points when stationary and verifies a tolerated deformation of 3 millimetres.
As often happens in Formula 1, once the law is made, the race begins immediately gray area. And therefore it is suspected that these teams will be able to pass the test, but obtain greater flexibility than pre-established, once on track. The German newspaper returned to the topic again, telling some interesting background to the story and speaking openly about “wing trick”.
Nobody protests and Mercedes recovers
Red Bull would have targeted the front wings of McLaren and Ferrari, trying to involve Aston Martin – which in August 2023 was forced to stiffen its front wing by a technical directive -, in a protest to the FIAhowever finding a negative response from the team owned by Lawrence Stroll, who is in turn working on a similar solution to adapt to the other teams.
Mercedes, who had noticed the flexibility of the McLaren and Ferrari wings, instead of protesting tried to follow the idea. Journalist Michael Schmidt explains: “The new Mercedes front wing is said to belong to the family of legal curvature wings and to have played a non-negligible role in the sudden recovery of the Silver Arrows. The car has suddenly become easier to balance and gives the drivers more confidence“.
The Red Bull dilemma
Each of these front wings that came under scrutiny has a different function, there are those who tilt the flaps backwards, those who manage to twist the entire wing or lower the ends: the objective is to best balance the car in all types of curve. Explains Cars, Motor and Sport: “The deformation of the wing reduces the front downforce and influences the flow towards the underbody. If you do it right, you get a little understeer in fast corners.”
Putting the idea of protesting in the drawer, Red Bull seems intent on following its rivals: “If we continue to tolerate this situation, then we will be forced to follow the same path.”
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