Alpine stiffens its rear wing to comply with new FIA directive and loses performance
The FIA is imposing a new limit on rear wing flexibility from the Chinese GP onwards. With the tolerance reduced to 0.5 mm, some teams had to react in a hurry. Alpine has confirmed last-minute adjustments.
The new FIA requirements on rear wing flexibility have put pressure on teams before the Chinese Grand Prix. Until now, a tolerance of 2 mm was accepted when 75 kg of vertical load was applied to the wing. But with the technical directive implemented, this margin drops to 0.5 mm, and a temporary tolerance of 0.25 mm will be removed starting with the Japanese GP. The result? A real headache for some teams that have had to quickly revise their plans.
And Alpine is one of the teams concerned. While McLaren seems calm, Lando Norris claims that the rear wing of his car is probably too good and that this new rule seems to be aimed at other teams, at Viry and Enstone, they had to roll up their sleeves.
Alpine plays the transparency card
First team to admit that an adjustment was necessary, Alpine had to work at the last minute to ensure that its A525 complied with the new standards. But there’s no question of saying too much about the nature of the modifications. Dave Greenwood, race director at Alpine, spoke on this subject to the media in Shanghai: « We had to do some work at the factory to ensure we were in the right place here, but I think that’s quite normal in these situations when a rule and a margin of deviation change. »
When asked about the modifications that were made, Greenwood remains discreet: “Honestly, I’m not going to go into details. But there’s work to be done to ensure it complies. That has been done, and here we are. You can imagine the timelines were very tight. It’s not like you can do something revolutionary, but there are things we can do to ensure we comply.”
Alpine is not alone in adapting. On the Haas side, team director Ayao Komatsu acknowledges that adjustments may have been necessary: « We may need to slightly modify the way we installed the wing, but not the design or anything. »
But then, does this new directive actually target certain teams more than others? While McLaren claims not to have changed anything, other more discreet teams could well be impacted. What is certain is that the FIA is looking to limit what is called the mini-DRS effect, a phenomenon where the rear wing slightly deforms to reduce drag at high speed.
A permanent technical battle
This regulatory change serves as a reminder: in Formula 1, technical innovation is always under scrutiny. Teams constantly push the boundaries of the regulations, and the FIA adjusts its stance when it believes an aerodynamic advantage is becoming excessive.
Alpine reacted quickly, but it remains to be seen if these modifications will affect their on-track performance. With a struggling car since the start of the season, these adjustments come at the worst time.
Meet in China to see if the A525 can keep up with the competition.
