Flexible wings: FIA denies Ferrari and Red Bull requests. Here's what (doesn't) change in 2025

12/30/2024 08:12 AM

Regarding flexible wings, the FIA is maintaining its philosophy: no new tests in F1, leaving Ferrari and Red Bull disappointed. During the recently concluded season, the flexibility of the front and rear wings came back into focus. McLaren and Mercedes, to varying degrees, drew the scrutiny of the stewards. Despite the findings, no immediate changes will be made.

Flexible wings are a perennial topic in modern Formula 1. The issue resurfaces periodically when a team pushes the concept to its extremes. In 2024, it was McLaren and Mercedes who took the lead before other teams, including Ferrari, followed suit. The Woking team even went a step further: the mini-DRS introduced in Azerbaijan sparked additional controversy.

The FIA responded by installing cameras to analyze wing movement starting with the Belgian Grand Prix. However, no changes have been made—or will be made—in the short term, even concerning how the wings are tested by the Federation. Accurately replicating the applied loads in a single uniform test for all teams remains too complex.

Flexible Wings, Nikolas Tombazis Speaks: No Changes to Tests
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA's head of single-seaters, explained the Federation's position to *Autosport*: "We're fairly satisfied with what we've seen. I hasten to add that it's not always about being satisfied or dissatisfied. One of the challenges with the front wing is that, compared to other parts of the car, the load varies much more between cars." – explained the racing car designer who has worked in Formula One since 1992 for the Benetton, McLaren, and Ferrari teams.

"Most of the tests concern the load applied in a certain direction, at a certain point, with a specific magnitude that must not produce a specific deformation. These tests aim to replicate real-life loading conditions as closely as possible. However, regarding the front wing, the variety among cars makes this quite difficult." – he pointed out.

"Of course, there was a lot of noise about this during the summer and early autumn. 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've stuck to that." – Nikolas Tombazis concluded.

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