F1 teams to face tougher tests on flexible fins in 2025
The FIA is planning a further tightening of controls on flexible fins for the 2025 F1 season.
According to the Italian publication AutoRacer, the FIA, the governing body of F1, has released a draft technical directive explaining how tests on flexible wings will become more rigorous for the 2025 season.
The FIA more strict
According to The Race, these tests will be implemented starting from the Spanish Grand Prix in June, the ninth round of the 2025 calendar, which includes 24 races.
The FIA is determined to close the loopholes in the regulations that allow the use of flexible wings exploiting technical tricks.
A source told The Race: « I would be surprised if anyone could still play with the design of flexible wings as much as before. »
The technical regulations concerning the flexibility of front wings are defined in Article 3.15.4, which states: « When the load is applied symmetrically to both sides of the car, the vertical deflection must not exceed 15 mm. »
« When the load is applied only on one side, the vertical deflection must not exceed 20 mm. No part of the trailing edge of a front wing flap may deflect more than 5 mm under a force of 60 newtons. »
« The revised version of the technical directive TD18 should reduce the deflection tolerance from 15 mm to 10 mm. »
Read also: What changes for the 2025 F1 season?
The controversy over flexible wings continues.
Flexible wings were a hot topic at the end of last season. Before the Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren was asked by the FIA to modify its rear wing after several rival teams questioned its legality.
Onboard footage from Oscar Piastri’s car appeared to show part of the McLaren’s rear wing flexing at high speed during his victory in Azerbaijan.
Ferrari director Fred Vasseur expressed frustration with what he considered an obvious question regarding McLaren’s mini-DRS trick. “I think there’s some confusion between what happened with the front wing and the rear wing,” Fred Vasseur said in Singapore.
« For the front wing, we all agree that there can be a gray area, as the first paragraph of the technical directive states that a car part cannot be designed with the intention of causing a deformation. Intention is difficult to assess. »
« But the story of the rear wing is completely different, because the article in the regulations also specifies a maximum deflection, and it’s black or white. There is no gray area, neither dark nor light. It’s black and white, and for me, it’s clear. »
