Max Verstappen and rival Formula 1 drivers believe the clampdown on flexi-wings is unlikely to have a big impact in the running order in this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
From this weekend, the FIA is introducing more strict tests on front wings amid the belief that some teams were exploiting the regulations better than rivals to run more flexible wings.
The main goal of the new technical directive is to have a level playing field, but the impact it will have on each team is still unknown.
There have been suggestions that Ferrari and Red Bull stand to gain the most while frontrunner McLaren is likely to lose out the most.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has said the Spanish GP changes could translate into a ‘reset’, saying the rules are game-changing.
But drivers like Verstappen reckon the impact won’t be as significant.
“I think all the teams will be a little bit impacted, some probably a bit more than others but it’s not gonna change the world,” the world champion told Sky F1 on Thursday.
Asked how much his Red Bull team will be affected by the changes, Verstappen said: “Honestly with the balance that we have, probably not so much.”
How will the rules affect McLaren is anyone’s guess
Grand Prix Photo
Verstappen’s rival Lando Norris, the winner of the last race in Monaco, also downplayed how the new technical directive will impact McLaren despite suggestions that the British squad has been the best at designing wings that flex within the permitted tolerances.
“Little tweaks here and there but nothing that will change how we have to do anything,” Norris said.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz believes the effect the changes will have won’t be bigger than a tenth of a second per lap.
“There’s been obviously a lot of talk regarding this,” said Sainz. “I don’t think it’s going to do as much as people think or that tends to be made about this change of regulation.
“It’s still a front wing and still will be just obviously run a bit stiffer and it will not flex as much as it does. But I wouldn’t expect more than one tenth swing up or down through the field for each team, depending on how much you were flexing or not.
Will the front wing flexibility clampdown introduced at the Spanish GP be a reset of Formula 1's competitive order?
By
Pablo Elizalde
“I don’t think there’s going to be a lot in it.”
Sainz acknowledged that the stiffer wing will make it harder for teams and drivers to balance their cars,
“Yeah, but I also think nowadays we have a lot of tools mechanically and aerodynamically to tune these cars,” he added. “So even if it’s going to be more of a challenge, we still have three practice sessions to see where the car is at in FP1 and take steps to fine-tune it and get it back to a decent place.
“So yeah, you can imagine teams also in the simulator have been running endless laps just with a new wing. Nowadays F1 teams are too well prepared in this sense to counter this kind of changes.”
Asked about how the tweaks will affect Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton said: “I have no idea. Honestly, I have no idea what the directive is going to do. I couldn’t guess.”
