Ferrari’s Vasseur claims McLaren’s rear wing was illegal, supporting the FIA’s decision to enforce stricter regulations.
Fred Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal, stated that, in his view, the rear wing used by McLaren F1 in Azerbaijan was “not legal.”
The mini-DRS rear wing of McLaren came under scrutiny when footage from a rear-facing camera on Oscar Piastri’s MCL38 revealed that the gap between the wing’s flaps opened wider at high speeds on Baku’s long straights.
Following an investigation into the flexibility of McLaren’s rear wing after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Piastri claimed victory while holding off Charles Leclerc, the FIA agreed with McLaren that the design of its low-drag rear wing required modification.
McLaren’s rear wings passed all static load tests mandated by the FIA, but ultimately, the FIA deemed the wing’s behaviour unacceptable. McLaren “proactively” agreed to adjust its low-drag specification.
Since then, the FIA has issued clearer guidelines to all teams regarding acceptable rear wing designs, as other teams had also been experimenting with slot openings.
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s director of single-seaters, disclosed that several teams had to make adjustments ahead of Austin (read more here).
It remains unclear which other teams had to make changes, but Vasseur confirmed that Scuderia Ferrari was not among them.
“We haven’t made any changes to the rear wing, but I believe this was more related to low-downforce configurations, and I’m not sure if anyone made modifications to their rear wing between Singapore and Austin.”
The Ferrari team boss also commented on McLaren’s rear wing, stating, “For me, it’s not legal. The issue with the rear wing is entirely different because, within the regulation article, there is a maximum deflection, and that’s black or white.”
“It’s not grey, not dark grey, not light grey. It’s black and white, and to me, it’s clear.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, believes that “the FIA’s changes regarding the rear wings have had an impact. In Formula 1, the small details make the difference, especially when the cars have converged as they did in Austin.”
“It’s all about marginal gains. That’s the essence of Formula 1. So yes, inevitably, there’s been a difference since the FIA’s clarification. The extent to which it matters will vary from circuit to circuit.”
Stella responds to Vasseur and Horner
Andrea Stella, McLaren F1’s team principal, is notably more sceptical about the directive’s impact and believes many teams had to make adjustments.
“I’d be surprised if only a few teams had to adapt their rear wing. Our rear wing was adjusted after Baku, following some discussions we had, and the FIA provided us with guidance on what they wanted to see. But it’s a really minor element in terms of car performance. It has nothing to do with a performance shift from one event to another.”
“None of the performance changes we’re seeing, whether better or worse, should be linked to this. And I think this applies not just to McLaren, but to all teams, given that some may have been asked to adjust the rear wing’s behaviour.”
“There were certainly other teams whose rear wings opened a gap between the two flaps. I expect those teams were subjected to the same requests as we were. From a technical standpoint, even when I see that they were opening the gap slightly, and I think they were probably asked to close it, I expect almost no impact on performance.”
“This isn’t what drives an F1 car’s performance—certainly not to a level that’s noticeable, measurable, or quantifiable from one event to the next.”
Vasseur treads carefully in the Red Bull affair
However, Horner couldn’t fully celebrate in Austin and kept a low profile. This was because Red Bull made headlines with its front-end ride height adjustment mechanism, accessible from the cockpit, sparking speculation about its potential use during parc fermé conditions—a clear violation of the regulations.
The FIA sent inspectors to the garages during the United States Grand Prix, examining the adjustment mechanisms on all 10 F1 cars. Red Bull even publicly demonstrated how its system worked under the scrutiny of television cameras.
For now, the FIA considers the issue to be resolved, and Fred Vasseur has stated he would take the same stance.
“The situation with the floor is in the hands of the FIA, but it’s my job to monitor it. However, I have to trust the FIA on this matter. This isn’t from Ferrari’s point of view. It’s not for me to decide what is legal or not. I’m not in the car, and my job is to focus on what we are doing to try to perform better next week than we did this weekend, to work on improving the details. As for the legality of other cars, I must rely on the FIA.”
“I don’t know what happened because I’m not part of the team, so I don’t know if they used it or not. But if they did use it, as I said, it’s clearly cheating—it’s not a grey area.”
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Ferrari chief backs FIA in McLaren rear wing legality row Ferrari chief backs FIA in McLaren rear wing legality row. f1 2024 Ferrari chief backs FIA in McLaren rear wing legality row
