Did the Technical Directive help Ferrari? Lando Norris reveals what really changed with the “flexible wings”. Lando Norris explains the real impact of the flexible wings TD introduced at the Spanish GP.

Ferrari and McLaren, the Technical Directive has no effect: Lando Norris admits the weak points of the MCL39 but reveals what really changed in the Spanish GP. Those who hoped for a different outcome, with a toned-down Papaya dominance, will have been disappointed. In Barcelona, the two Woking cars dominate, even pulling away from Max Verstappen’s combative Red Bull. Ferrari and Mercedes, on the other hand, remain distant.

Those who didn’t watch the Grand Prix might be misled by the final standings. Charles Leclerc’s third place – which makes Ferrari McLaren’s main chaser on paper – is a sweet illusion. The SF-25 rightfully beats Mercedes, at least with the Monegasque, but it is still too far from the performances of Max Verstappen and, above all, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

The gap, looking at the lap times, is small. A recurring point, even in the team principals’ comments, is that a few tenths or hundredths can make all the difference. But with the current technical regulations reaching a performance ceiling, even improving lap time by a fraction of a second is very complex. And the technical directive on flexible wings hasn’t changed anything.

The flexible wings still flex: Lando Norris explains what changed
During the post-race press conference, answering journalists’ questions, Lando Norris explained the effects of the much-discussed technical directive: “Our rivals are close. Many complained about our car, they introduced this technical directive, but nothing has changed. The team did an excellent job giving us the best car on the grid and we’re proud of that.”

“We still have weak points, especially in qualifying, where we’re all very close. Don’t be misled by the margin we had this Saturday. On other occasions, the gaps have been hundredths or thousandths, and it hasn’t always been easy for us. I believe it will be like that in the future too.” – the British driver pointed out – “But it’s clear we have the best car, on average, and we seem even stronger in the race. The others, however, are catching up. At the start of the year, our race advantage was probably much larger than it is now. We just have to keep our heads down and keep working hard.” – Lando Norris concluded at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix.