Red Bull boss Christian Horner has admitted that the team will “pursue” a flexi-wing if the FIA deems the front wing designs from McLaren and Mercedes acceptable.
Horner and Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur put pressure on the FIA to bring clarity to the matter of flexi-wings following the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Both team bosses were wary of the designs on McLaren’s MCL38 and Mercedes’ W15 with many reasoning flexi-wings have been behind the performance uplift on both.
The FIA has been monitoring flexi-wings with greater scrutiny since the Belgian GP in July but has found all cars to be within the confines of the regulations.
“I think what’s crucial for any team, as with all these things, is always clarity,” Horner said during the Azerbaijan GP Friday press conference.
“Is something acceptable or is it not? If it’s deemed to be acceptable, then obviously that encourages you to pursue similar solutions yourself.
“So the regulator, obviously they have all the information available. They have all the analysis that they’ve recently put cameras on, many cars.
“So I guess they’re collecting that data. But yeah, it’s one of those things, as I say, that if it’s deemed to be acceptable, then you pursue that route.”
Horner and Red Bull need clarity from FIA’s flexi-wing investigation
The FIA’s latest statement on the flexi-wing debate came shortly after the Italian GP, reading: “The FIA is examining front wings at every event with numerous checks (conformity of surfaces, conformity of deflections) with respect to the relevant F1 Technical Regulation.”
The “relevant F1 Technical Regulation” states: “any part of the trailing edge of any front wing flap may deflect no more than 5mm, when measured along the loading axis, when a 60N point load is applied normal to the flap.”
Additional cameras have been in play since the Belgian GP and this practice will continue through the Singapore GP “to ensure every team will have been running the mandated FIA camera on different types of tracks (low, medium, high and very high downforce).
Essentially, the FIA is conducting a data gathering exercise “to draw the most objective picture of the situation and quantify differences between the various dynamic patterns observed on track.”
Horner noted that Red Bull has been on the other side of the flexi-wing debate, saying: “We went through it a little more recently than a decade ago, I think three years ago.”
In its recent remarks, the FIA added the matter “has been a challenging area throughout the years.” Perhaps, more clarity is needed to satisfy Horner and Red Bull.
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