Method 1’s governing physique is to introduce more durable exams on wing flexing within the 2025 season.
The power to use flexibility of entrance and rear wings whereas staying throughout the guidelines was thought to be a key element in McLaren’s constructors’ championship victory.
And it led to a sequence of rows between them and rivals Pink Bull because the championship drew to a conclusion.
A spokesperson for governing physique the FIA stated: “We’re dedicated to make sure that bodywork flexibility is not some extent of rivalry for the 2025 season.”
More durable exams will likely be utilized to wings in two phases within the first a part of the brand new season, the FIA stated.
The primary of those, which applies to rear wings, will likely be launched on the season-opening race in Australia on 14-16 March.
The second, concerning entrance wings, will come into power on the Spanish Grand Prix, working from 30 Could to 1 June.
The spokesperson added: “This phased strategy permits groups to adapt with out the necessity to discard current elements unnecessarily.
“These changes are geared toward additional refining our potential to watch and implement bodywork flexibility rules, making certain a stage enjoying discipline for all opponents to advertise truthful and thrilling racing.”
The FIA stated the change in testing was as a consequence of “additional evaluation carried out by the FIA single-seater division after the conclusion of the 2024 season”.
However the spokesperson denied that the technical directive detailing the more durable exams, which was first revealed by Italy’s autoracer.it web site, was a response to complaints from Pink Bull in regards to the flexibility of McLaren’s wings.
Groups have lengthy used the flexibility to make wings flex as a software to extend efficiency.
The precept is that drag might be decreased on the straight because the wing adjustments form below elevated load, boosting straight-line velocity, earlier than the wing flicks again to a most downforce-producing specification because the automobile slows for corners, to spice up grip.
Usually, the method permits groups to run the automobiles with extra downforce within the corners with out sacrificing straight-line velocity, which might usually be a consequence of extra highly effective wings.
This has change into particularly essential with the present technology of automobiles, as a result of their inherent design makes it tough to attain an excellent dealing with steadiness between high- and low-speed cornering.
That was the most important challenge Pink Bull got here up in opposition to final yr as their competitiveness suffered following a dominant begin to the season.
Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen received a fourth consecutive world title after warding off McLaren’s Lando Norris within the second half of the championship.
However Pink Bull’s efficiency struggles – and a resultant poor season by Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez – meant they completed third within the constructors’ championship behind McLaren and Ferrari.
Having wings that may flex and cut back drag on the straights permits groups to discover a extra optimum steadiness to scale back understeer – an absence of entrance grip – in gradual corners whereas not affected by extreme oversteer – an absence of rear grip – at excessive velocity.
