This is by no means a new practice, quite the contrary. The term “flexi wings” has been circulating within Formula 1 since the 1990s. The theoretical concept, put into practice by engineers in the pinnacle of motorsport, is explained as follows: to achieve a kind of “mobile aerodynamics” by effectively playing with the flexibility of wings. The underlying concept is relatively simple, all in all. Essentially, by working on the Formula One car correctly, it’s possible to create a vehicle with a significant amount of downforce that can also maintain good aerodynamic efficiency to achieve high top speeds.
As a practical example in the present day, consider Red Bull. The Milton Keynes-based team, with its excellent RB19, boasts very high efficiency compared to other teams. This is a crucial asset that often greatly facilitates the search for the optimal setup during races. The easiest and most direct way to counteract excessive drag on the straights is by flexing certain components, in this case, the front wings, to reduce the frontal area of these components as speeds increase on long high-speed sections.
When a Formula One car is on a straight, the downforce it produces is not useful and, moreover, it creates resistance that dissipates energy, slowing the vehicle down. As soon as the car enters the braking phase, the vertical force generated on the wing decreases, and consequently, the wing flaps return to a higher incidence. To intelligently exploit this “shortcut” for the sake of efficiency, teams spend a lot of time trying to circumvent the checks by the International Federation.
The static tests imposed by the FIA, in which various components are subjected to load checks, are conducted multiple times over a Formula 1 race weekend. A team’s mechanics bring their cars to the dedicated inspection garage where a kind of “self-examination” takes place, as the group led by Nicholas Tombazis does not physically attend this area. Instead, they watch the examination through cameras (sometimes delegates are present in the garage). Each team has 10 minutes to perform the check, and a maximum of 10 people use the provided tools to conduct the tests.
During this inspection, with a certain amount of weight applied, the components in question must not deform. However, as the years pass, the story remains the same. Teams always find ways to circumvent the rules, and the wings continue to flex. Just watch the onboard footage, and you can easily see it. The only measure the International Federation has taken to counter this situation is to increase the load at which these “incriminated elements” are tested exponentially.
F1, Directive TD018: FIA’s Drastic Moves
Especially in the 2023 racing campaign, we’ve noticed that the wings of some cars flex significantly, providing several advantages. According to information gathered by the editorial team of FUnoanalisitecnica, various technicians have indeed found various ways to once again take advantage of this practice, bypassing the regulations. Fed up with this situation, the International Federation has decided once and for all to eliminate this context with a further tightening of the rules.
With the introduction of directive TD018 starting from the Singapore Grand Prix, only certain scenarios will be considered legal. So let’s try to understand what will happen. First and foremost, every single element that has relative movement in space compared to the component to which it is fixed will be banned. In practice, conferring a degree of freedom to an element will be prohibited.
We should remember that the technical regulations are clear in this regard, explaining that no part of a Formula One car with aerodynamic purposes can undergo even the slightest deformation or movement. This clarification is necessary because, for example, in the case of Mercedes, only a portion of the front wing of the black arrows underwent certain flexing on the straight, while the rest remained fixed to the nose.
Furthermore, it has been further clarified within the regulations that the rotation of an element around the component to which it is anchored will not be allowed under any circumstances. We know that many times, technicians have “played” with the rigidity of certain parts of the car, such as the supports that essentially connect two components.
In the image, we can observe the front wing of the Mercedes W14 and the resulting gap in the incidence of the flaps at different speeds. Through the latest onboard tools, it is more than evident how the front wing flap rises as soon as the driver applies the brake pedal and the car decelerates. In this case, we don’t know if they are rotating a portion of the wing around the end-plate, but in fact, there is relative movement with the area in red that we defined as “fixed.”
The third regulated method concerns the use of materials that can be considered elastic. In this case, we are talking about all those connecting or supporting components. Finally, the fourth point concerns the so-called “localized cracking,” which is the momentary and localized yielding of certain components, such as the wing’s trailing edges.
In this case, beyond a certain speed value, a portion of the element “yields,” and consequently, its frontal area decreases. We are talking about true engineering works because, to produce such scenarios, a significant amount of study and experimentation is needed to achieve the desired behavior; otherwise, you risk permanently damaging a part of the component in question.
In conclusion, to provide a personal perspective, we can express an opinion. This is a hypothetical field, full of conjecture. As far as we know, Mercedes has worked extensively on this matter, and the evidence shows it. Defining the benefits precisely remains somewhat elusive, and Mercedes technicians probably cannot quantify it with exactitude. Red Bull, always very attentive to “normative tricks,” as we can call them, has also used this practice.
As for the Ferrari team, we can almost certainly say that they have lagged behind in this regard. This factor might lead us to think that Directive TD018 could provide a consequent benefit by eliminating certain advantages, however relative they may be, to those who have been better at exploiting them. Nevertheless, it is entirely futile to think that the FIA’s measure will somehow shuffle the cards on the table. The RB19 will remain the most efficient car in the lot, while Ferrari and, above all, Mercedes will continue to face a certain speed deficit on the straights.
Source: Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica
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