Not only Red Bull has a flexible rear wing: 'FIA allowed it for a long time'

Starting with the French Grand Prix the FIA will test the rear wing in a different way. The reason is the suspicion that Red Bull Racing uses a rear wing that moves backwards on the straight. This gives them a higher top speed and according to Lewis Hamilton almost a tenth of the speed.

In a video by Peter Windsor, Craig Scarborough, technical expert, explains the implications of that new test."The story really blew up on Saturday in Barcelona, when Lewis said that Red Bull managed to gain a tenth because of that flexible rear wing. You can see that when the car is on the straight, the rear wing goes backwards and when braking, it goes back into position."

New test should provide clarity

According to Scarborough, Red Bull is not alone."Every rear wing flexes a bit, some more than others. This is something that the FIA has allowed for a long time and at some point, a team will push the limit of the regulations. It seems Red Bull have done that now, as the FIA are now going to take action again."

The new FIA test seems to be a disadvantage for Red Bull, but according to Scarborough, every team needs to start paying attention."The regulations say that bodywork cannot move. It's true that it will move a bit, but these things are designed to be flexible. Teams spend a lot of time making sure the bodywork gets through the tests."

However, according to the FIA, this is now happening too much and so they are taking action."The new tests will affect every team though. They will have to design a rear wing that will also pass that new test. They will have to make sure that the wing is legal, even with the new test," Scarborough concludes.