FIA McLaren inspection confirmed as new rule a…read more
It has been confirmed that McLaren’s car underwent an inspection by the FIA at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, just before the governing body introduced new regulations ahead of the second race of the year in China. Formula 1 moves on to the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, following a strong performance from McLaren’s Lando Norris, who won the Melbourne race and took an early lead in the drivers’ championship.
McLaren’s car showed strong performance in Australia, with Norris leading Max Verstappen of Red Bull by more than 16 seconds before changing weather conditions and multiple safety car periods neutralized the race, allowing Verstappen to close the gap. Ultimately, Norris secured the victory by less than a second. After the race, it was confirmed that Norris’ McLaren was one of the cars subjected to post-race inspections by the FIA.
Norris’ car, along with two other vehicles, had its rear wing thoroughly checked, including the rear wing beam, endplate, and tip. These checks were part of a broader investigation into rear wing flexibility, which has become a hot topic in F1 following the controversial use of flexible rear wings in previous seasons. The FIA confirmed these inspections in an official document, and the governing body is now enacting new rules to curb excessive rear wing flex, which had sparked debates last season, with many teams concerned that certain cars were gaining an aerodynamic advantage.
The FIA’s investigation into rear wing flexibility included attaching cameras to some cars during the race in Melbourne. These cameras measured the deflection of the rear wings under various conditions. After combining these on-track observations with static measurements taken in the garage, the FIA concluded that changes to the regulations were necessary. Specifically, the area of concern is the “slot gap,” which refers to the space between the rear wing flap and the main plane.
Before the season began, the FIA had already implemented stricter rules, allowing for a maximum deflection of 2mm. However, ahead of the Chinese GP, the FIA is reducing this limit further, allowing just 0.75mm of deflection when a 75kg load is applied to the rear wing in the pits. This change includes a 0.25mm tolerance, which will be in effect for the Chinese Grand Prix. After this race, the tolerance will be fully removed, and from the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka (scheduled for April 4-6), the rear wing deflection will be restricted to just 0.5mm without any leeway.
Despite the new rule changes, the FIA confirmed that Norris’ McLaren, along with the other cars inspected after the Australian GP, were in full compliance with the technical regulations. Additionally, all the cars fitted with cameras during the race also met the necessary standards. This suggests that, at least in the case of the McLaren, there were no violations of the existing technical rules, but the rule changes are being implemented to further tighten the regulations.
In summary, the FIA’s inspection of McLaren’s car at the Australian Grand Prix is a direct response to ongoing concerns about rear wing flexibility, which has led to the introduction of stricter regulations. These new rules, limiting rear wing deflection, will come into effect at the Chinese Grand Prix and will be fully enforced by the Japanese Grand Prix in April.
