Red Bull are reportedly in discussions with the FIA over whether the flexible front wings used by McLaren and Mercedes fall foul of their regulations. Ferrari have joined forces with Red Bull to make the complaint, which could result in a mid-season rule change.
Christian Horner’s Red Bull made a blistering start to the 2024 season but balance issues have seen Max Verstappen’s commanding Drivers’ Championship lead dented by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The team standings are also heating up, with Red Bull now only eight points ahead of McLaren, who took two of the three podium spots in Monza on Sunday while Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez finished sixth and eighth respectively.
Red Bull may have their backs against the wall but they are still swinging, as The Times claim that the reigning constructors’ champions and Ferrari are arguing to the FIA that McLaren and Mercedes have overly-flexible front wings which give them an ‘unfair advantage’.
If F1’s governing body finds that the front wings are legal, the two complainants are expected to hold further discussions over whether a change in the regulation wording is required.
Under current guidelines teams are allowed some flexibility in their front wings but a ‘grey area’ has sparked calls for clarity. If Red Bull and Ferrari get their way, a rule change could be implemented part-way through the season.
Horner and his Ferrari counterpart, Fred Vasseur, both addressed the issue over the weekend. “Obviously there’s a (flexibility) test you pass and then you have to look at the wording of the regulations,” said Horner.
“If you remember back in 2021 certainly around Baku time there was a change to the front wing regulation. Even though our wing passed the test it was exploiting an elasticity so that’s an FIA issue; we’ll leave it with them.”
Vasseur took a more evasive approach: “This is the discussion that I don’t want to have with (the media). I will have it with (Nikolas) Tombazis (director of the single-seater department of the FIA). But we have to respect the decision of the FIA.”
McLaren passing Red Bull in the team standings seems inevitable on current form, but Norris has only eight Grands Prix remaining this year in which to close a 62-point gap on Verstappen and win his first F1 world title.
