Starting the French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard circuit this weekend, the new rules relating to the flexibility of the rear wings will definitively come into force. The FIA has given the teams a month to comply and configure these aerodynamic devices to the new parameters.
And here we go again. As has often seen in the course of many decades of Formula 1, the FIA rewrites regulations that itself had made ahead of the start of the season, thus prohibiting what the FIA itself considered legal until a few weeks ago. In short, a mess.
As you all know, the rear wing of the Red Bull RB16B, deemed excessively flexible, is under accusation (Ferrari will also have to change it’s design, but given that the Maranello team is not in the fight for the title, the attention has been more on the Red Bull – Mercedes battle). The FIA, through Article 3.9 (Bodywork flexibility), regulates the flexibility of the bodywork, including the front and rear wings. Here, in the photo, we report the entire article.
The new rules establish that, under the vertical load of 1000 N applied on the main airfoil of the rear wing and 750 N longitudinal (horizontal loads accurately positioned on the rear wing), the deflection and rotation must not exceed the value of 1 ° .
Was this further intervention by the FIA necessary? In our opinion, no. Let’s go one step at a time.
What are flexible wings for? As is known, the downforce created by an airfoil is, so to speak, a self-enhancing process. As the speed of the car increases, the downforce generated by the airfoils also increases. However, in a straight section where high speed peaks are sought, it is good to favor aerodynamic penetration rather than downforce (the latter produces drag).
By exploiting the aforementioned self-enhancing effect and creating flexible structures, it is possible – at certain speeds – to flex only the airfoils or the entire structure that makes up the wing. This flexion – carefully studied and calibrated – is aimed at reducing the incidence of the airfoils, to the benefit of top speeds in straight lines.
A sort of “active wing” which, in essence, partially reproduces the functioning of cars equipped with active suspension, whose function, we recall, was to optimize aerodynamics in all driving conditions.
Cyclically, Formula 1 tackles the theme of flexible wings, increasingly tightening the rules relating to static loads. Is this “ideological war” on flexible wings really necessary ? No, for two main reasons.
The first is linked to the presence of the DRS (Drag Reduction System), the now well known as well as unpopular mobile flap introduced to “favor-overovertaking”. The DRS is nothing more than a mobile aerodynamic system intended to reduce aerodynamic drag on the straight. That is, a legal expedient to increase top speeds, albeit for improper use (the “fake” overtaking).
Here, then, is the contradiction “made in FIA”: why the DRS yes and the flexible wings no?
The second reason, therefore, is easy to say: the FIA - in the name of the concept of Formula 1 – should not, on the contrary, must not prohibit flexible wings if they comply with the regulations drawn up by the legislators of the International Federation and signed by the manufacturers.
In fact, we started from an assumption that was never ascertained and clarified during the technical checks : the illegality of the flexible rear wing of the Red Bull RB16B, Ferrari or Alfa Romeo.
Are we really sure it was illegal? What if Red Bull or other teams have found a way to flex the rear wing while respecting the regulatory constraints described in Article 3.9? We find it hard to believe that an expert manufacturer like Red Bull and fighting for the World Championship has run into an illegality as blatant as it is now easily unmasked …
Here we go again. Mercedes, smelling the adversary’s technical “trick”, spreads the suspicions in the press, without, however, making an official complaint to the FIA. The FIA, like Pontius Pilate, washes its hands, preferring to tighten the rules for everyone rather than decree a legal solution in the hands of a single manufacturer. Movies, alas, already seen.
Mercedes is not watching: and here is that the front wing of the F1 W12 shows evident bending under the action of the deportant load. A decline, in our opinion, also legitimate, completely physiological and equal to that found in other cars.
Flexible aerodynamic devices and equally flexible bodywork have caused discussions not only in Formula 1. In 2014 , the World Endurance Championship had a similar debate. At the center of the attention of the ACO-FIA legislators, the rear wing of the Toyota TS040 LMP1 and the rear body of the Porsche 919 LMP1 .
In both cases, the aim was clear: the flexion of the wing (reduction of the incidence of airfoils at high speeds) and bodywork would have led to a reduction in drag, therefore an increase in top speeds, vital at Le Mans. Even in that case, after a first application, both systems were banned. A real shame, considering the interest and particularity of the solutions in question, especially with reference to the flexible rear wing sported by the Japanese prototype.
We are convinced, however, that the FIA should promote research and applications regarding the so-called “mobile aerodynamics” . Limiting this area to only the (improper) use of the DRS appears very mortifying and pauperistic.
Unfortunately, the FIA intervenes when it shouldn’t. An interesting technical variable was, once again, eliminated from the scene by rewriting, contradicting and mortifying the regulations themselves. A way of acting that does not benefit Formula 1.
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