The controversy over McLaren’s “mini-DRS” wing
After sharp remarks from Frederic Vasseur and an intervention from Zak Brown that heated up Friday in Singapore, the only thing missing was the (final?) response from the Federation regarding the “mini-DRS,” now officially banned. The response came on Saturday during qualifying at Marina Bay, delivered by Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater regulations chief. Speaking to Sky, the former Ferrari engineer explained the governing body’s stance on McLaren’s rear wing, which was formally deemed legal but will need to be modified by the Woking team for the upcoming Grands Prix. This seems like a win for Ferrari and Red Bull, but in reality, it reinforces the position of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who wouldn’t have used that low-drag wing configuration again, except at the Las Vegas circuit.
The FIA explains the decision
This inevitably led the teams to complain to the Federation, particularly about the timing of the ruling, which won’t be applied retroactively and arrives at a point that makes it (almost) irrelevant. However, Nikolas Tombazis dismissed the complaints: “We only discussed McLaren’s rear wing after the Baku race. Usually, teams approach us on Fridays to discuss anything they find controversial. Also, we mustn’t forget that McLaren passed all the compliance tests. And that’s important because the rear wing in question satisfied all the rules outlined in the technical directives. Therefore, according to the text of the regulations, there didn’t seem to be any reason to proceed with a retroactive disqualification of McLaren.” – explained the racing car designer who has worked in Formula 1 since 1992 for Benetton, McLaren and Ferrari.
How the Baku sun highlighted the issue
“All the teams,” Nikolas Tombazis added, “without exception, even those currently voicing the loudest complaints, have at times benefited from our approach. We believe this is the most fair and sporting thing to do. Therefore, the situation didn’t warrant an exaggeration like disqualification from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It’s natural that there are complaints because the championship is highly competitive. I’d also like to point out something: in Baku, the sun was shining in a certain direction, which highlighted this phenomenon much more. This might not have been the case in Monza or Spa, which is why no one noticed. If someone had approached us at Monza or Spa, perhaps we would have acted a little sooner.” the FIA’s single-seater regulations chief concluded.
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