FIA to crack down on rear wing loophole with directive that could hurt Oscar Piastri's world title tilt
Updated . First published at
The FIA has announced that it will be cracking down on the permitted flex in the rear wing of Formula 1 cars, in a move that could impact McLaren and Australian Oscar Piastri's chances of a world championship.
A technical directive was issued to the teams in the wake of last Sunday's Australian Grand Prix with "tougher" load-deflection tests for the rear wing to be implemented from this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix to ensure compliance.
The teams will have limited time to prepare for the change with lights out at the Shanghai International Circuit just days away.
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McLaren's Oscar Piastri at the Australian Grand Prix. Getty
"Having analysed footage from the rear wing deformations combined to the static deflections measured inside the FIA garage in Melbourne, the FIA has concluded that sufficient grounds exist for a tougher test to be introduced from the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix on the upper rear wing," an FIA statement read on Monday morning.
In Shanghai, the standard for allowed flexibility will be significantly reduced from the mark in Melbourne.
For the season opener, a static load test saw 75 kilograms of vertical load placed at either end of the rear wing mainplane with the gap between the mainplane and the flap then measured. The regulations allowed a variance of no more than two millimetres.
For the rest of the season, the figure has been reduced to just 0.5 millimetres, with a tolerance of 0.25 millimetres to be added to the limit because of the short turnaround.
In Melbourne, all cars complied with the regulations in place. However, it is understood that several teams including McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were close to the allowed flex and therefore, could be at risk of being penalised or disqualified under the stricter test.
Last September, McLaren was accused of cheating after the rear wing of Piastri's car could be seen flexing during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix — a race which Piastri went on to win.
McLaren was accused of cheating after the rear wing of Oscar Piastri's car could be seen flexing during the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. FOX Sports
As the McLaren picked up speed, eagle-eyed fans and pundits noticed the rear wing of Piastri's car flexed as the aerodynamic load increased, which then created a slightly bigger opening, known as the slot gap, between the top two panels.
This reduced the drag on the rear wing at high speed in certain areas of the track — creating a "mini-DRS" — despite Piastri not having DRS (drag reduction system) available to him.
The full DRS system opens the flap of the rear wing, which reduces air resistance and gives the car an added speed advantage to promote overtaking.
During a race, DRS is only available to a trailing car within one second of its rival ahead, and the system can only be applied in designated zones on the track.
The FIA reacted to Piastri's flexing wing by asking the Woking-based squad to adjust following a reinterpretation of the regulations ahead of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
Changes to the load-deflection tests for the front wing, the upper rear wing, and the beam rear wing were already in the pipeline but the FIA's directive hastens the process with the governing body looking to close off any loopholes in the regulations.
Practice for the Chinese Grand Prix begins on Friday.
