Ferrari has completely modified the construction of the front wing, which was submitted for inspection at the FIA garage in Barcelona. This could be seen already on Thursday thanks to the images from various journalists and reporters who had the opportunity to be in the Barcelona pit lane and photographed the evolved version that will debut at the Spanish Grand Prix to comply with the updated FIA rules on deflection that come into force at this event, the ninth of the 2025 Formula 1 championship.
The Prancing Horse team is introducing only this update at Montmeló, reportedly pairing it with a rear wing taken from last year’s inventory, just as already happened at the Imola circuit in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend.
Diego Tondi’s staff has completely redesigned the front wing, which must now adhere to much stricter flexion criteria due to the technical directive that was decided and approved before the start of the season. The original text stated that, when a 100 kilogram load is applied symmetrically to both elements of the front wing, vertical deflection must not exceed 15 millimeters, while if the force is applied to only one side of the wing, the deflection must not exceed 20 millimeters.
Article 3.15.4 stated that placing a 100 kilogram load on both profiles of the front wing, 800 millimeters from the centerline, the vertical deflection should not exceed 15 millimeters, and if the force was applied to only one side, the deflection should not exceed 20 millimeters. The FIA has changed these figures, limiting deflection to 10 millimeters under dual-sided load and 15 millimeters under single-sided load.
As for the flexibility of the flaps, the regulation previously stated that “any part of the trailing edge of each front wing element could not flex more than 5 millimeters, measured along the load axis, when a 6 kilogram point load was applied perpendicularly to the flap.” From this Grand Prix onward, the allowed deflection will be just 3 millimeters.
The intervention by Nikolas Tombazis, FIA’s single-seater technical director, is significant, and teams have had to revise not only the design but also the construction of the front wing.
The differences are easily observable because the main profile, which previously followed a carbon fiber layout inclined at about 45 degrees, now has a different orientation parallel to the direction of travel—exactly the opposite of what can be seen in the second element, which also serves a structural function by connecting to the nose and providing support.
In particular, it is noticeable that the connection between the four elements and the endplate has been completely revised with new inserts. And in the available photographs, one can see the different camber of the endplate: this is a part sensitive to programmed deformation movements. The last two flaps themselves have reoriented fibers and a different design along their trailing edge.
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