Why FIA needs to be less “flexible” with wings regulations
Abstract
Flexibility is often seen as a positive factor in
human behaviour, but sometimes it can also be seen as a problem. Formula One
teams are always looking for grey areas to exploit and, in this case, they find
it in the wings regulations. From TD018 to TD034G, the FIA has made many
improvements to mitigate the problem, but no action has been taken, even though
the F1 Technical Regulations were already clear on the subject.
What are Flexi-wings?
One of the fundamental issues with this generation of
F1 cars has to do with the flexibility of the wings. This part of the car has
always been exploited as much as possible by the engineers and aerodynamicists,
considering the key role they play in creating good aerodynamics and balance of
the car.
The technical development of composite materials has
also contributed to the creation of materials with specific characteristics,
capable of being both rigid and flexible when the car meets certain
requirements, mostly related to speed, capable of generating a large amount of
vertical forces on the various aerodynamic components of the car through
downforce.
A brief explanation of how carbon fibre composites are
made is necessary to understand how Flexi-Wings are achieved. As the word
composite suggests, it is made up from two distinct materials:
v The reinforcement: which provides most of the strength of the composite and consists of fibres (either carbon or Aramid) laid in various directions to suit the applied loads. They generally come in the form of a mat of woven or unidirectional fibres. Fibres are available in many grades of varying stiffness and brittleness.
v The resin matrix: which provides the body' of the material. It bonds and protects the reinforcement and distributes loads to the fibres. The type of resin determines the capacity of the composite to resist heat. Phenolic, epoxy, polyester and vinyl ester resins are the most used, each one with their peculiar characteristics and their pros and cons.
The most important thing to remember for understand the
flexy wing phenomena is that the carbon fibre composite construction is
invariably anisotropic, i.e., the fibres are deliberately run in
specific directions to produce the most advantageous strength properties[1].
The other main concern is that the FIA's rigidity
tests are based on 'static load', meaning that a load is applied to a component
to check its integrity. This type of measurement is not sufficient to avoid the
flexibility of a component when different and dynamic forces are applied, such
as when a car is on the track.
For these
reasons teams are able to create particular carbon composites thar are able to
be stiff when a static load is applied and flexible when subjected to dynamic
loads.
Some
examples of flexi-wings and their advantages
Many teams use this system
and two of the main examples are McLaren and Mercedes.
The McLaren rear flexi-wing
is shown above and was seen at the last Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, where
Leclerc's Ferrari was unable to overtake Piastri's McLaren on the straight,
even though Leclerc had a big advantage due to DRS and slipstream.
You can clearly see how the
rear wing behaves differently depending on the speed of the car. At low speeds,
the wing remains in a neutral position, while at higher speeds the extremities
of the upper part of the wing become flexible in an attempt to make them as
flat as possible. This feature is useful because it is able to generate more
drag reduction, acting like a "mini DRS".
On the other hand, we can
see the front wing of Russell’s Mercedes during the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
As you can see
in the picture, the wing 'collapses' at high speed and almost reaches the
tarmac. This kind of flexibility is really useful because it gives a double benefit.
When the car brakes, the wing gradually returns to its neutral position,
generating more downforce and helping with the braking process, while at high
speed this wing generates the same effect as that seen on the rear wing of
Piastri's car in the previous example.
Why FIA needs to be less “flexible” with wings rules
The FIA has
become aware of this issue in recent years and has tried to address it with two
different sets of rules: TD018 and TD039D.
The first was
enforced from the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix and had the purpose of avoiding
this phenomenon by creating a new baseline on what is permitted and what is not
in terms of wing flexibility. Despite these efforts and a first period of calm,
flexible wings are back and so the FIA’s pursuit for their ban.
For this
reason, a new technical directive was published by the FIA for the 2024 Belgian
Grand Prix. The new rules, enforced by the TD039D, were not a rigid set of prescriptions
to better enforce the TD018, but a new measurement system with the addition of
new cameras and points on the cars to monitor the flexibility of the wings.
A normal
question to ask now is: where is the problem?
The problem in
this case also hides the solution.
In the TD018
is stated that one of the main purposes of this TD is the compliance with art.
3.2.2 of F1 Technical regulations that states: “all aerodynamic components
or bodywork influencing the car’s aerodynamic performance must be rigidly
secured and immobile… Furthermore, these components must produce a
uniform, solid, hard, continuous, impervious surface under all circumstances.”[2]
In the end, we
can conclude that the TD018 and 039D were just a further superfluousness of
what was already and clearly stated in art.3.2.2 of the F1 Technical
Regulations. At this point it is clear that there is already a rule that needs
to be enforced by practical measures and sanctions rather than by other obscure
technical directives that (at least in the case of TD018) were not strictly
applied even if they existed.
Yesterday it
was announced that, after all the complaints about this issue, the FIA “is
closely monitoring the flexibility of bodywork on all cars and reserves the
right to request teams to make modifications at any point during the season”[3].
Hope remains
to see the conclusion of this epic and long lasting battle between teams and FIA,
but, for the moment, the only conclusion we can suggest is to just apply the
rules as they are and not be guilty of the same fault made by some teams: being
too flexible…
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