By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief Motorsport.com
The flexi-wings row in Formula 1 is nothing new – ever since aerodynamicists realized that the more you reduce a wing’s area, the faster your car will go in a straight line.
Teams were smart enough to learn how to build flex into the aero parts, so at a certain airspeed they bend to reduce drag and therefore increase the car’s velocity. Also, to pop back up again when braking or cornering, to give maximum downforce when required.
Of course, the FIA got wise to this too and have put in place a series of ‘pull-back tests’ to stop teams from doing it, essentially on safety grounds. But in every poacher/gamekeeper scenario, the poacher will find new tricks to evade the gamekeeper’s policing – it’s a part of the fabric of F1 – so the trick is for the wing to accept the load of the test without budging but to rotate when being ‘pushed’ by the airflow rather than ‘pulled’ by the static test rig.
Visual evidence is there for all to see from onboard camera footage: In particular, the Red Bull’s rear wing and the Mercedes’ front wing each display flexing characteristics. The FIA will now impose more stringent tests after the French GP – an end to the matter? Or just the beginning of the next phase of the cycle? |
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