By Alan Baldwin
(Reuters) – Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, responded to concerns about flexing front wings on the McLaren and Mercedes cars by saying on Tuesday that all teams were compliant with the regulations.
Ferrari and Red Bull bosses raised questions, without formally objecting, after Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix which Ferrari won with a bold tyre strategy after McLaren locked out the front row in qualifying.
Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko said after his team’s championship leader Max Verstappen trailed home sixth that “the front wing of McLaren and Mercedes must be analysed.”
Team boss Christian Horner said then that the wording of the regulations needed looking at, even if all front wings had passed inspection.
McLaren have made a remarkable turnaround this season, struggling initially but now reckoned to have the fastest car, with the team only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
Mercedes have also come back strongly, winning three races.
The FIA’s technical department said in a statement that it carried out front wing checks at every race.
“All front wings are currently compliant with the 2024 regulations,” it said.
The FIA added that it had gathered more data since the Belgian Grand Prix in July by using on-board video cameras in Friday practice to assess front wing movement by targeting areas not visible with official Formula One cameras.
“This exercise will continue at least up until Singapore to ensure every team will have been running the mandated FIA camera on different types of tracks (low, medium, high and very high downforce),” it added.
“This will ensure a large database allowing the FIA to draw the most objective picture of the situation and quantify differences between the various dynamic patterns observed on track.”
Singapore is the 18th of 24 races on Sept. 22, following on from Azerbaijan on Sept. 15.
The FIA said the front wing had been a “challenging area” for years because aerodynamic loading patterns varied between teams.
The governing body said it had the right to introduce new tests if irregularities were suspected but there were no plans for anything in the short-term.
“We are evaluating the situation with the medium and long-term in mind,” it added.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
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