F1 awaiting 'impact' from Spanish 'point of intrigue' - Mercedes

Mercedes feels there may be "an impact" from new technical regulations that come into force from this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Following numerous complaints aired last year about the level of flexing of the front and rear wings on the cars of certain teams, the FIA implemented a crackdown.

The rear-wing concerns were dealt with over the first few grands prix of the year. Teams were allowed more time to address front wings on cost grounds, according to the FIA.

Under revised technical regulations, there will be new load tests applied to all cars. Previously, the rules stated that when 100kg of load is applied symmetrically to both sides of the front wing, the vertical deflection must be no more than 15mm, and when applied to one side only, no more than 20mm.

For this weekend, when the 100kg load is applied, the vertical deflection must be no more than 10mm, and to only one side, no more than 15mm.

Getting ahead of the curve, Mercedes introduced its new regulations-compliant front wing at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix two weeks ago. For the remaining nine, their modified designs will be on show this weekend.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has suggested the new regulations could be "a game-changer"; others are more sceptical.

From Mercedes perspective, team representative Bradley Lord said that, "every team will need to make modifications to a certain extent."

He added: "What is unknown is not the effect that will have on our car, for example, which we can simulate and we believe we understand well, but what the relative impact of that will be on the field.

"And so that will be a definite point of intrigue for the media and for everyone watching to see if that does have an impact on relative competitiveness."

'And have some teams been gaining more benefit from that than others?'

From an outside perspective, the changes to the flex tests appear minimal, with the FIA's tightening of the rules amounting to only a five millimetre difference.

Such small margins, however, can have a considerable difference on the cars as the greater the flexing, the more the reduction in drag on the straights and an increase in downforce in corners.

"It’s not the absolute performance amount so much as the relative," said Lord. "And have some teams been gaining more benefit from that than others?

"We will only see that when we start running on Friday, and really, once we get into qualifying and the race on Saturday and Sunday.

"So it certainly can have an impact because teams wouldn’t be doing it unless it was having a performance-positive impact, wouldn’t be doing it if it was negative.

"And I think it’s fair to say no team would be choosing to run the wing the way we are having to from Spain unless we had been obliged to do so by technical directives. So we don’t know at the moment, is the honest answer.

"We can expect it to make a difference, certainly make the car a little bit more delicate to balance between a happy low-speed balance to get around the slow corners and then not being too nervous in the high-speed corners.

"But what the relative impact will be, only the weekend will show."

Lord, meanwhile, has confirmed there will be "small upgrades" on the W16s of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli this weekend.