Scuderia Ferrari and Mercedes have made adjustments to the floor components of their cars at the 6.2-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada, USA, in order to align with the FIA’s latest technical directive, though Scuderia Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur described the new ruling as “strange.”
The technical directive was released ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix in response to a loophole in the regulations regarding excessive plank wear.
The FIA’s action specifically addresses the use of “satellite skids,” which are metal components designed to protect the plank. These skids are placed at a distance from certain measuring points on the plank to offer additional protection.
While the skids were intended to match the vertical stiffness of the primary skids located at the plank’s measuring points, there was no specific thickness requirement. By using thicker skids, teams could effectively shield the plank from exceeding the FIA’s 1mm wear limit, thus allowing the cars to run closer to the ground without violating the regulations. It was reported that Red Bull raised the issue with the governing body, which led to the issuance of this week’s technical directive.
Ferrari and Mercedes were among the teams suspected of exploiting the use of these “satellite skids,” though Frederic Vasseur emphasized that the plank on Ferrari’s car was fully compliant with the rules.
Yes, we had to make a change, but we had also the confirmation before this that the plank was legal, from the FIA,” said Fred Vasseur explained during the press conference for the Las Vegas Grand Prix – “I think it was the right attitude for us not to fight that because I want to stay focused on the championship and not on this kind of discussion. But the approach was strange.” – he pointed out.
Ferrari British Senior Performance Engineer Jock Clear added that “fundamentally, the Technical Directive effectively acts as a regulation. We all know they’re sort of bolt-ons to a regulation, so for us, we just read the TD and respond to it. From what I’ve understood, it’s not been a big drama to deal with whatever we’ve had to deal with.” – Jock Clear confirmed.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also disclosed that the Brackley-based team “needed to alter the way we operate the floor” as a result of the new regulations. Along with Scuderia Ferrari, the technical directive has affected other teams such as Alpine, Visa Cash App RB, and even Red Bull, who were the ones to bring the matter to the FIA’s attention.
On the other hand, McLaren chief executive officer Zak Brown mentioned that the current championship leaders had not made any modifications to their car in response to the governing body’s directive.
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