Lando Norris believes that McLaren hadn’t been “pushing the limits enough” on rear-wing flex amid a fresh clampdown for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
The FIA enforced a new limit on rear wing flex for the season-opening Australian GP, with stricter front wing limitations due for Round 9 in Spain.
However, after observations in Melbourne, the FIA has tightened rear-wing restrictions even further.
The new technical directive mandates that rear wings flex at a limit of 0.5mm under a vertical load-bearing test of 75kg on the mainplane, with a China-only tolerance of 0.25mm.
This is to combat the supposed ‘mini-DRS’ effect that McLaren courted controversy with in Baku last year which led to Norris being asked whether his team is under stress trying to adapt to the new technical directive in Shanghai.
“Nope,” was the McLaren driver’s response to the query on Thursday.
“We don’t have to change anything.
“Ours is fine. In fact, ours was probably too good.
“We’re probably not pushing the limits enough, honestly.
“If this technical directive was applied for last weekend, we’d also be fine.
“So it’s not directed at us, it seems. It’s directed at other teams.
“Which probably means we need to push it a little bit more.”
Who will benefit from the technical directive?
The FIA monitored several teams during the Australian GP weekend for rear wing flex, including McLaren and made post-race checks on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, George Russell’s Mercedes, Carlos Sainz’s Williams and Norris’ MCL39.
The governing body then elected to slash rear wing flex tolerances by 75% so clearly believes one or more teams were exploiting the regulations.
Voices within the Red Bull camp certainly feel as if McLaren or others were exploiting the regulations regarding wing flexibility.
Technical Director Pierre Wache was pointing fingers during pre-season testing
“It is still going on,” he told The Race.
“I think Ferrari and McLaren are doing the mini-DRS stuff still.”
Red Bull also boasts that any tightening up on wing flexibility will benefit the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Whether it can reel McLaren in this weekend looks to be uncertain, especially given Norris’ defiant claims his team is well within rear-wing flex limits.
The FIA noted that no team was in breach of the previous 2mm tolerance in Australia, which tallies with Andrea Stella’s comments to Sky Sports ahead of the new campaign.
“[It’s] no headache at all,” he said.
“We don’t have to make many adjustments at all for the start of the season.
“There will be a small adjustment required from race nine,” he added, highlighting front wing flexibility is an area McLaren continues to pursue.
Can Red Bull hold on until June before McLaren is pegged back?
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