Nicholas Tombazis reacts to flexi wings controversy: “Insufficient measures. From now on, we will be much more decisive”. Nicholas Tombazis reacts to flexi wings controversy.

The Chinese Grand Prix weekend has officially begun, and while all the drivers are on track for their only free practice session ahead of the Sprint Qualifying later today, the paddock is buzzing with talk about the new technical directive introduced by the FIA to further curb the issue of flexible wings.

Mara Sangiorgio, in an interview for Sky Sport Italia, spoke with the FIA’s Technical Director, Nicholas Tombazis, who explained the reasons behind this sudden rule change, implemented right after the Melbourne round. Below are his statements.

The Greek engineer stated: “The teams are well aware that they need to make their wings very rigid. This year, we decided to be more restrictive on the front wing with some changes that will come into effect from the Spanish GP, as well as on the rear wing. It became quite clear from the start that the measures taken for the rear were not sufficient, and to prevent this discussion from continuing in the upcoming races, we decided to be very decisive right away.”

Nicholas Tombazis then concluded his statement by saying: “The origin of everything is indeed the mini DRS. The relationship between the main wing profile and the flap changed at speed, opening up and reducing drag. This was the reason why some teams were doing it. To monitor everything, we installed cameras on the cars and saw some phenomena that we didn’t like. That’s why we made this decision.”