F1 teams have always found loopholes in the regulations to gain any little bit of advantage. Red Bull is reportedly at the forefront of protesting McLaren and Ferrari’s new front wings. But, why is a team protesting a loophole? Ever since the Papaya team and the Scuderia brought their upgrades, they’ve been on Red Bull’s tails. The Milton Keynes outfit has probably now asked for Aston Martin‘s help in protesting against the competition.
AMuS reports that Red Bull, “wanted to use Aston Martin to protest. But they didn’t want to hear of it”. The flexible front wings on McLaren and Ferrari are reported to be the reason behind their newfound performance. But, why isn’t Aston Martin supporting Red Bull if the competition has an advantage?
So AMuS reports that Red Bull wanted to make Aston Martin protest the front wings of McLaren and Ferrari but Aston Martin didn‘t want to hear anything about it. Rumors say that Aston Martin is working on a similar front wing https://t.co/zghwbnNfsO
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) June 18, 2024
The reports further suggest that Aston Martin themselves are developing a similar front wing to McLaren and Ferrari. The new Mercedes front wing, that put the Silver Arrows on pole in Canada could also be a flexi wing. Lawrence Stroll’s team is expected to follow suit and gain an advantage from the loop exploited by the competition.
An F1 front wing has to pass the FIA’s rigidity and flexi test when stationary. The wings have to sustain a load of 60 Newtons in different places and cannot bend more than three millimeters. The flexible wings on the Ferrari and McLaren would have passed these tests, but the individual elements still flex under racing speeds and loads, giving an advantage.
The wing deforms under load, reducing the drag and downforce of the car, giving a boost down the straight. It also helps make the car feel less edgy in high-speed corners. The AMR23 front wing from the start of the season reportedly got banned after FIA introduced new rules for front wing flexing last year in August. Aston Martin lost its early season performance at about the same time.
Nonetheless, seeing the performance that teams like Mercedes and Ferrari have gained, courtesy of the new front wings, Aston Martin will be eager to develop their own integration of the same.
Aston Martin to bring upgrades for the Spanish GP
The Silverstone-based team was the second-best behind Red Bull at the start of 2023. However, this season hasn’t been the kindest to Aston Martin as they have only been the fifth-best team on the grid. Even though they brought major upgrade packages in Japan and Imola, the improvements haven’t been significant.
Tom McCullough recently advised Aston Martin to bring some upgrades to the Spanish GP. These upgrades come just in time before the triple header and may give a small boost to the team going into the three back-to-back races. It hasn’t yet been revealed what the upgrades are going to be. However, McCullough confirmed that there are going to be multiple small upgrades.
Aston Martin is currently way off the pace of the top four and is ahead of V-CARB and Haas. The Silverstone outfit is in no man’s land and would like to join the fight with the leaders. Finishing in the top five positions on Sunday must be the goal for Aston Martin.
