Red Bull has been on a phenomenal run this season, winning all 15 races that have been held so far. However, the FIA recently clamped down on the flexi-wing, which can cost Max Verstappen nearly half a second per lap. Now, as per a report by Autosport, Toto Wolff is hoping that the Red Bull will struggle at the Singapore GP.
The flexi-wing is essentially a mechanism used by teams that allows their rear or front wings to flex and thus rotate downwards due to the incredible aerodynamic load on them. This leads to a flatter wing, which means there is less drag, and the car enjoys a boost of speed.
Even though the FIA has strict regulations regarding how much flexibility a wing can have, the tests that are done to check it are quite different from the real-life scenarios during an actual race. Therefore, teams can manipulate their wings to act within the rules when the FIA test forces act on them, but when the actual aerodynamic loads act on the wing, it flexes downwards.
Toto Wolff is hoping against hope that Red Bull gets compromised
It is believed that this flexi-wing mechanism was being exploited by teams like Aston Martin and Red Bull. While it is still not clear how much the new regulations will affect the teams, it is already being speculated that Aston Martin saw a drop in their performance recently because they had to come up with a fixed wing that does not flex as much.
As quoted by Autosport, Wolff explained that even though he doesn’t know the complete details about which team is exploiting the flexi-wings, if it is Red Bull, then they can suddenly be half a second slower than usual. He said, “That would be nice, but I don’t think that will be the case.”
Red Bull slowing down by half a second per lap would be absolutely devastating for their dreams of going through the season unbeaten. Teams like Ferrari and Mercedes have already managed to snatch away pole positions from the Red Bulls, only to lose out on the race pace. If Red Bull’s race pace is compromised, it might set up an exciting Singapore GP.
FIA director explains the need behind the clampdown
Even though the flexi-wings have been around for a long time, FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis recently revealed that they were forced to take action due to the teams going to extreme lengths to get around the rules. He explained that the teams had started to use secret mechanisms under their wings to manipulate the FIA test results.
Tombazis claimed that some teams have been using certain levers under the rear wing that allow the wing to deflect upon certain levels of forces in certain directions. The FIA has clamped down on these mechanisms, and it is to be seen how it affects the pecking order in Singapore.
