02/09/2023
NEWS STORY
Team bosses have spoken out in support of the FIA's clampdown on "rubbery nose boxes" which is due to come into force at Singapore.
For some time there has been speculation that some teams have found a means of allowing the wings their cars to flex, and as a result the FIA has sent a proposal to all of them outlining a new technical directive aimed at tightening up the rules on flexing.
Fearing that teams are using systems that rotate and flex the front and rear wing elements in ways that cannot be detected through current regular load tests, the teams have now been told that they must provide detailed drawings and cross sections showing how the various elements are fixed to the nose, and rear wing elements, rear impact structure and pylons, in a bid to assist the FIA in understanding how the wing components are being used.
Speaking at Monza, a number of team bosses gave their support to the FIA's move.
"The FIA they have a lot of information," said Andrea Stella, "they can see things that other teams can't see in terms of respecting cars. So they are very competent.
"We 100% trust their judgement and their approach," he added, "and if they thought that it was the time to release a Technical Directive then it means that there is a reason for that.
"We are not very concerned about that, to be honest, so we take the positive that if the FIA felt it was needed, it means that there is something to clamp down and for us I think is good news."
"By definition, a TD is a clarification of the regulation," added Frederic Vasseur. "It means that there was already a regulation in place, and we are, as someone said, that we have to trust the FIA that if they consider that they have to do the TD it's probably that the regulation was not clear enough and we trust the FIA in this direction to do that."
"It's not something that affects us," insisted Christian Horner. "We've seen a few rubbery nose boxes, shall we say, so we'll see those get addressed, I guess, in Singapore."
At Aston Martin, who earlier this year had to deny that the FIA had demanded modifications following claims of flexing, team boss, Mike Krack denied that the extra work that the Technical Directive will entail might prove a problem.
"I cannot speak for the other teams, but for us, it will not be a headache," he insisted.