FIA rejects Ferrari and Red Bull protest over legality of McLaren MCL38 front wing. The FIA has communicated that all teams are in compliance with the regulations.

The FIA has issued a statement saying that all the front wings of the 2024 Formula 1 cars are currently legal and have been shown to comply with the governing body’s tests.

After the Italian Grand Prix, it emerged that Ferrari and Red Bull wanted further investigation into the legality of McLaren and Mercedes’ front wings. This came after onboard camera footage showed a greater degree of movement in the wing designs over the weekend.

Since the Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA has been monitoring the movement of the front wings with cameras to determine whether the current flex tests are fit for purpose or if they need to be revised. The FIA reiterated that this is a data collection exercise rather than an investigation into the teams.

When it introduced these additional checks, the FIA stated that it would not seek to change any regulations this season; instead, any changes to the rules, if deemed necessary, would be introduced only starting in 2025.

Engineers have often tried to introduce aeroelasticity into aerodynamics within the regulations, as it can often be used to reduce drag on straights, as long as it passes the load tests imposed by the FIA. It is clear that introducing a small amount of flex in the front wing is advantageous under current regulations, as it can help address the balance difficulties posed by the reintroduction of ground effect floors.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the governing body emphasized that all wings on the grid are legal: “The FIA examines front wings at every event with numerous checks (surface compliance, deflection compliance) against the relevant F1 technical regulations. Currently, all front wings comply with the 2024 regulations.”

“Since the Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA has acquired additional data during FP1 and FP2 sessions to evaluate dynamic behaviors through an FIA-required camera that captures areas of the front wing not visible through the official FOM cameras.”

“This will continue at least until Singapore, to ensure that all teams use the FIA camera on different types of tracks (low, medium, high, and very high downforce). This will ensure a broad data base that will allow the FIA to build the most objective picture possible of the situation and quantify the differences between the various dynamic models observed on track.”

The regulations add that “no component is infinitely rigid,” and this allows for a small amount of flex under a certain load. The rules state that “any part of the trailing edge of a front wing flap cannot flex more than 5 mm, measured along the load axis, when a point load of 60 N is applied normally to the flap,” according to Article 3.15.5 of the 2024 technical regulations.

The FIA added that “the front wing has been a challenging area over the years because the aerodynamic load patterns among different competitors vary, making it difficult to find a load vector that covers all types of front wing construction.”

“Other areas of the car, including the rear wing and the outer part of the floor, exhibit much more uniform aerodynamic load patterns across the grid, which makes the load and flex test more universal. The FIA has the right to introduce new tests if irregularities are suspected. No short-term measures are planned, but we are evaluating the situation from a medium- and long-term perspective.”