Alfa Romeo has made a permanent front wing tweak to ensure Kimi Raikkonen’s exclusion from Formula 1 qualifying in Azerbaijan is not repeated at the Spanish Grand Prix. Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen had to start from the pitlane in Baku after his front wing failed a deflection test on Sunday morning.
The wing had a problem with the flap adjuster hook on both sides, which was changed to a new specification for the race. Team boss Frederic Vasseur said the issue should not be repeated this weekend.
“We did a mistake and you can consider this decision [being disqualified in Baku] was a bit harsh, but it’s like this,” he said – “For sure we are not coming to Barcelona with the same wing.”
Alfa Romeo Racing had identified a component weakness ahead of the Baku race following a problem Kimi Raikkonen had suffered in an earlier grand prix. However, resolving that properly was not possible during the run of flyaway races, hence a final fix being readied for this weekend’s race. Asked by Autosport to clarify whether Alfa had needed to change the specification or simply replace it with a new component, Frederic Vasseur said: “We changed the hook.”
Aside from change the adjuster hook, Alfa Romeo’s front wing has been upgraded for the Spanish GP. The team has revised the inner wing tips and the shape of the elements sitting between the flap adjuster and the endplate.
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