Christian Horner says that the FIA’s decision to allow McLaren and Mercedes’ front wings, after requesting clarification on their flexibility, will encourage Red Bull to follow a similar path.
After the Monza race, Red Bull and Ferrari asked the FIA for a definitive answer regarding the legality of McLaren and Mercedes’ front wing designs. The FIA had been monitoring the level of wing flex on track since the Belgian Grand Prix and declared that all 2024 wings were legal within the regulatory limits.
Horner stated that the governing body’s decision to declare the wings legal will encourage his own team to pursue a similar design (one that meets static load tests but provides aeroelasticity under dynamic conditions). Horner said, “I think what’s important for every team, as always in these matters, is clarity.”
“Is something acceptable or not? If it is deemed acceptable, it encourages you to find similar solutions.”
“So the regulatory body obviously has all the information. They have all the analyses regarding the cameras they’ve recently installed on many cars.”
“They are collecting this data. But yes, as I said, if it’s deemed acceptable, then you follow that path,” he added.
The FIA had previously stated that it did not intend to ban any designs during the front wing data collection process, and that possible regulation changes would be saved for the 2025 season. While it’s generally assumed that as long as a wing passes static load tests, it can flex freely on track, the TD34 technical directive states that the FIA does not consider designs where “structural characteristics are altered by secondary parameters” to be legal.
This includes aerodynamic load and temperature, but it is also noted that a wing cannot be infinitely rigid and will flex under some load. Essentially, reducing the total front wing camber under load helps to reduce some drag from the wing on straights, but the effect it has on the rest of the car is also intriguing.
It has been suggested that much of McLaren’s 2024 success and Mercedes’ rise in performance is due to the balance advantages offered by a flexible front wing. Last week, the FIA stated that “this practice will continue at least until Singapore to ensure that every team operates the mandatory FIA camera on different types of tracks (low, medium, high, and very high downforce).” The FIA will continue to monitor the wings during the Azerbaijan and Singapore weekends.
The statement also added, “This will provide a broad database that will allow the FIA to draw the most objective picture of the situation and measure the differences between the various dynamic models observed on track.”
