While the McLaren of Oscar Piastri delivered an impressive win in Baku, the team was not free from certain controversies involving its low-downforce rear wing. There was a debate about the legality of McLaren’s rear wing design, which was referred to as the ‘mini-DRS’. Teams like Red Bull and Ferrari believed that it was not entirely compliant with the rules because the upper part of the wing seemed to move in a way that could enhance performance.
Although McLaren only ever planned to use that rear wing in select races like Spa, Monza, and Baku (tracks with low downforce requirements), the FIA had asked them to make adjustments to stop this movement in future races. However, this had no negative result in the performance of the MCL38 in Singapore as the team never even intended to use that wing for the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
#AMuS “McLaren breached the rule that the gap between the main blade and the flap (‘slot gap’) must be the same size at all times when the DRS is closed.”
Some drivers get dsq for gap <1mm in the DRS while other teams get to keep results obtained with illegal mini DRS. #F1 pic.twitter.com/YnggVws6U2
— amaia ✡︎ (@amaia_end) September 21, 2024
Team boss Andreas Stella has expressed amusement over the fact that his rivals have been distracted by the legality of the rear wing. Amid such concerns expressed from their rivals, McLaren went on to claim pole position in Singapore on Saturday followed by a dominant win by Lando Norris on Sunday.
As per a recent report from Formula Passion, the Italian said after Norris claimed pole position, “What effect will the wing change have? Well, absolutely none and I think it showed in qualifying. However, it is good for us that our rivals have distracted themselves with this type of thing because it means that they are not focusing on themselves. And for us this is an advantage.”
Norris eventually ended up winning the Singapore GP by a 21-second margin over his championship rival Max Verstappen, who himself would have been happy with losing only the minimum amount of points possible during the weekend.
