Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has brushed aside concerns about the FIA’s crackdown on flexi wings, expressing hope that competitors’ “rubbery nose boxes” will no longer be a concern in Singapore, which will host the next round of the 2023 Formula 1 championship.
Flexi wings have been a persistent challenge for the FIA, as teams have sought ways to gain an advantage by using tricks to evade load-bearing tests imposed by the FIA.
However, Article 3.2.2 of the Technical Regulations explicitly prohibits flexi wings, stating that “all aerodynamic components or bodywork influencing the car’s aerodynamic performance must be rigidly secured and immobile with respect to their frame of reference.”
Consequently, the FIA has issued a new Technical Directive, TD018, informing teams that, starting from the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit, any attempts to exploit flexible wings will be more rigorously examined and penalized accordingly.
The FIA clarified its stance, stating, “There has been a draft Technical Directive on the subject of bodywork flexibility issued in response to observations across several cars, and ensures that the FIA and teams all have a common understanding of the way we should interpret the regulations.”
This means that the Italian Grand Prix was the final opportunity for teams testing the limits of flexibility with their current designs.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner remains confident that his team will not be affected by the new Technical Directive, stating, “It’s not something that affects us. We’ve seen a few rubbery nose boxes, shall we say, so we’ll see those get addressed, I guess, in Singapore.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur also does not appear concerned about the new Technical Directive, asserting that a technical directive merely clarifies a regulation that teams should already be complying with. However, he conceded that the regulation may not have been entirely clear to everyone.
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