F1 flexible wings: impact on World Championship challenge between performance and budget

01/05/2025 03:15 PM

One of the technical themes that defined the 2024 Formula 1 season was the use of flexible wings, both because it pushed teams to further explore aeroelasticity and because it sparked debates over interpretations and delays.

The issue of balance has always been fundamental. In the past, such as in 2021, there were discussions about how greater flexibility in wings, like the rear ones, could provide advantages in terms of top speed and achieving a more versatile setup. However, with these ground-effect cars, the topic has returned to prominence, especially concerning the front wings, to compensate for certain characteristics.

For this reason, several teams decided to invest in raising the bar further, while others initially opted for a more cautious approach, either due to doubts about the legality of certain technical solutions or to avoid spending their budget on developments that the Federation might ban within weeks.

This pursuit of greater elasticity in components was also encouraged by the fact that the testing protocols introduced in 2022, when the current ground-effect regulations came into force, have remained unchanged. A stable regulatory framework allows teams to accumulate experience and establish a solid development base while experimenting to push boundaries further.

Why the Focus Has Returned to Front-Wing Flexibility
Given how load is managed in this type of car, how the tires limit combined phases in corner entry and mid-corner, and how the wings are far less complex than before, balance has become more critical than ever. In a technical battle often decided by mere hundredths of a second, this affects not only outright performance but also the driver’s confidence.

It's no surprise, then, that teams have resumed exploring aeroelasticity more actively, particularly at the front. Due to both regulatory freedom and the characteristics of these cars, which naturally tend toward understeer in slower sections and behave differently at high speeds, working on the front wings is proving both challenging and crucial for ensuring more effective and consistent vehicle balance.

“Especially with this generation of cars and front-wing regulations, the possible geometries are very limited. It's very hard to achieve what you want in slow sections, on straights, and at high speed,” McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella explained. “This is a challenge I'm sure all teams are facing, and it's also why developing a front wing is so difficult.”

Given the intrinsic characteristics of these cars, a well-optimized front wing in terms of flexibility can significantly influence the car’s behavior, beyond just performance. Ground-effect cars have often proven unpredictable in their reactions, making consistent behavior more beneficial than it might seem.

McLaren and Mercedes were among the first to invest in this area during 2024, and while it wasn't the only secret of the MCL38, it was one of the elements that enabled the team to build a car that became the benchmark on the grid for much of the season, ultimately winning the Constructors' Championship. It's no secret that the Woking team invested heavily in redesigning the entire family of wings, introducing as many as eight different solutions to adapt to various load levels, thereby enhancing the car's versatility.

Among the objectives was not only to improve the car’s overall efficiency, especially in medium and high downforce configurations, but also to address the chronic understeer that limited the MCL60 in 2023, particularly at low speeds. The slower the speed, the more the car struggled in long corners that required reliance on the front end.

This issue, both mechanical and aerodynamic, was a key focus for McLaren on the 2024 car, especially with the updates introduced during the season. McLaren unveiled a new front wing concept with the Miami package, working on the flap geometries, which was further updated in Austria. What had previously been a weakness became one of the MCL38’s strengths thanks to meticulous development efforts.

FIA Delays in Decision-Making
Other teams followed the trend during the season, albeit later than McLaren and Mercedes. The latter revised its concept from Monaco onward, pursuing solutions different from those at the start of the year. The delay was partly due to Ferrari and Red Bull approaching the FIA for clarification regarding the alleged excessive flexibility of their rivals’ front wings.
This prompted the governing body to install cameras on all cars starting from the Belgian GP to monitor wing flexibility. However, the aim was not to intervene promptly but to gather long-term data. Upon reviewing the footage and confirming that the potentially contentious wings passed all mandatory tests, the FIA deemed them compliant and decided against further action.

“There was obviously a lot of fuss about it during the summer and early on. We had made it clear to the teams, at least since 2022, that we had no intention of introducing additional front-wing tests, and we stuck to that,” Tombazis explained, confirming that the tests would remain unchanged in 2025, allowing teams to continue investing and developing.

Following the FIA’s stance, Ferrari also introduced a revised front wing in the second half of the season, first unveiling a new design in Singapore to increase front-end downforce and later modifying its construction in Austin to enhance flexibility. However, Ferrari was frustrated by the timing, as the governing body reportedly took about two months to provide a clear response on the matter.

When asked if wing flexibility had been a decisive factor in the championship, Vasseur responded: “I think so. I’m a bit frustrated because the performance improvement is evident, and we had to wait two months to know whether it was legal or not,” the Ferrari Team Principal explained. In a pre-budget cap era, Ferrari could have adopted similar solutions sooner, but with cost constraints, it had to wait.

The Budget Issue: Why Development Was Delayed
“With the cost cap, you always have to stick to the budget and be efficient. It means that if you start a development and end up scrapping it, you burn €600,000. We discussed this with Red Bull two years ago: it’s not just about losing half a million, but because it’s half a million out of €150 million,” Vasseur added. It’s not just about designing a new front wing but also revisiting its construction and producing multiple units to comply. Moreover, the development budget is significantly smaller than the total cost cap, forcing teams to make strategic choices.

“It’s half a million out of three or four million allocated for development, considering you have your engineers, race costs, and other expenses. In the end, the budget for development is relatively small, and if you waste half a million on nothing, you can’t spend it elsewhere. For me, that was where the story was really on the edge.”

This issue also affected Red Bull in 2024, as the Milton Keynes team had to rethink its budget allocation for flexible wings to adapt to the trend set by rivals, despite already having other areas to address due to the aerodynamic balance issues of the RB20. “I believe the front wing is a key area where others have found performance,” Christian Horner explained, referring not just to the wing’s geometry.

It’s not merely about making the wing flex but also how this movement occurs and is utilized: “The way front wings are used is very different. If you look at the angle of the front wing of McLaren and Mercedes, they are very different from the rest of the field.”

Fred Vasseur argued that the performance gains from a flexible wing, even if seemingly small, could significantly impact not just performance but also the standings. With margins so tight, even a few hundredths of a second can make a difference.

“It’s true that the closer the competition, the more we focus on details. I’m not sure if, when there’s a six-tenths gap between cars, we pay as much attention to details. But when there are races like Monza, with four or five cars within a tenth, if you have a flexible wing, it certainly makes a big difference. I think this is more a consequence of having a challenging regulatory framework that’s not easy to develop, but also of the championship becoming increasingly competitive.”

— see video above —

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