The FIA has cracked down on rear wing flex, prompting key Formula 1 teams to urgently modify their designs after China’s directive.
A recent technical directive introduced at the Chinese Grand Prix has shaken up the F1 grid, forcing several teams to rethink their rear wing designs. The FIA has tightened regulations surrounding the flexibility of the DRS (Drag Reduction System) flap, narrowing the range of motion allowed in order to close potential loopholes.
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s Single-Seater Technical Director, confirmed that “four or five teams” had to make changes to comply with the new interpretation. Alpine was among those teams. Tombazis said the FIA is satisfied with the process so far.
“That’s why we’re still using camera systems — not for safety reasons exactly, but because this is a technically complex issue,” he explained.
FIA Watching for Hidden F1 Tricks with Cameras
To ensure compliance, the FIA compares static load test results with high-speed footage captured by onboard cameras. The goal? Catch any clever tricks teams might be hiding.
“Camera images alone won’t get a team penalized,” Tombazis clarified. “But they might raise enough suspicion to trigger a deeper investigation. That’s when we might find something like non-linear behavior or a hidden mechanism, and then we’d take it further.”
The FIA isn’t randomly testing cars for illegal designs, Tombazis said — they simply don’t have the resources for that. But the load tests currently in place are considered the baseline for legality.
“If suspicions grow, we can tighten the scope of checks,” he said. “We’re not being arrogant — we know teams are always pushing limits, and we have to stay alert.”
“Our stance is simple: if a car passes the FIA tests, it’s generally legal — unless there’s something hidden, like temperature-dependent systems or non-linear materials. In those cases, we step in.”
“And while we won’t normally report a team that passes the tests, the regulations allow us to carry out extra rigidity checks in specific cases — and this is one of them.”
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FIA Targets Rear Wing Tricks After China Clampdown
FIA Targets Rear Wing Tricks After China Clampdown
