Martin Brundle has described McLaren’s ‘mini-DRS’ effect from their Azerbaijan Grand Prix rear-wing as ‘genius’, but warned the Woking-based team’s rivals that they have other potent upgrades in the works for the coming races.
The Constructors’ Championship leaders enjoyed a strong weekend in Baku as Oscar Piastri held off Charles Leclerc in a memorable fight for his second Grand Prix victory. However, it was their rear wing that picked up the most attention on social media.
After footage of the rear wing flexing under load circulated around social media, the FIA stepped in and after conversations with McLaren representatives in Singapore, an agreement was reached to change the component after this weekend.
However, when quizzed on the controversy ahead of qualifying, Brundle was impressed. “Well I think they know that if they bring it again they might be in trouble,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I thought it was a little bit genius, to be honest… a little bit cheaty as well.
“But a cornerstone, a foundation of Formula One is that the teams must fundamentally make their own car and they all set about finding ways to bend the regulations and get away with it, if you like, and that was one of them.
“Some of the other teams and drivers complaining is… pot, kettle and black springs to mind. And also, I think McLaren have some pretty juicy upgrades coming as well and I’m sure they’re thinking: ‘Right, we don’t need to take any risks with that, we’ve had the benefit of that, we’ll move onto something else now.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella came out fighting when discussing the agreed changes after qualifying in Singapore. “Well the effect is absolutely zero,” he stated. “I think we saw it today.
“For us it’s just good news that our competitors get distracted with this kind of things because it means they don’t focus on themselves and for us it’s just an advantage. We are completely comfortable that this is a little bit of a red herring that someone is speaking up. The wing is legal.
“There’s no topic really. I think it’s just a story but it looks like everyone looks for some stories. It’s good, it’s good for us. We keep focused on ourselves, feet on the ground, keep delivering upgrades and that’s what we do. We talk on the track.”
