07/09/2024
NEWS STORY
The FIA has issued a statement in reaction to doubts over the legality of a number of teams front wings.
In the aftermath of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, after weeks of speculation, Red Bull and Ferrari openly questioned the legality of the front wings on the McLaren and Mercedes, which, according to onboard TV footage, showed a certain amount of flexing.
In light of the speculation, which has intensified along with the championship fight, since the Belgian Grand Prix the FIA has used on-board cameras to assess the degree of flexing in a bid to discover whether its current tests, which include load tests, go far enough.
However, the sport's governing body has been at pains to make clear that the use of the cameras is to acquire data and is not meant to signal that particular teams are under investigation.
It was also keen to make clear that there would be no changes to the regulations over the course of the remaining races, with any changes that needed to be made almost certainly held over until next season.
Today, the FIA issued the following statement:
"The FIA is examining front wings at every event with numerous checks (conformity of surfaces, conformity of deflections) with respect to the relevant F1 Technical Regulation. All front wings are currently compliant with the 2024 regulations," it read.
"Since the Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA has acquired additional data during FP1 and FP2 sessions to assess dynamic behaviours through an FIA-mandated video camera which captures areas of the front wing which are not visible through the official FOM cameras.
"This exercise will continue at least up until Singapore to ensure every team will have been running the mandated FIA camera on different types of tracks (low, medium, high and very high downforce).
"This will ensure a large database allowing the FIA to draw the most objective picture of the situation and quantify differences between the various dynamic patterns observed on track.
"The FIA has the right to introduce new tests if irregularities are suspected.
"There are no plans for any short-term measures, but we are evaluating the situation with the medium and long-term in mind."