FIA cracking down on flexible F1 wings

Sep.1 (GMM) F1’s governing body is cracking down on flexible wings.

It is a topic that rears its head every now and then in Formula 1, as teams can get an aerodynamic advantage by pushing the limit in terms of the wings’ ability to deform under load.

According to f1-insider.com, the FIA suspects that some teams are currently pushing the limits in this area, and will ramp up their checks for wing flexibility from the forthcoming Singapore GP.

It comes in the form of technical directive TD018, which teams received ahead of the recent Dutch GP.

“It now emerges that the regulators sounded the alarm at the Azerbaijan GP, asking teams to react,” said correspondent Bianca Garloff.

“One of the teams is said to have been Aston Martin,” she added, speculating that it could explain the team’s strong start to 2023 and subsequent dip.

Garloff added that the FIA still has suspicions that some teams have found a way to design and produce flexible wings that are not detected by the current stress tests.

“From the Singapore GP, teams will be required to submit assembly drawings and cross-sections showing the attachment of the front wing panels to the nose and the rear wing panels to the endplates and rear impact structure,” she said.