Mercedes make 'space alien' quip after new F1 rule introduced

Mercedes technical director James Allison has quipped that "space aliens" would not have been able to detect if F1 had new flexi-wing rules in the Spanish Grand Prix.

In a bid to stamp out wing flexing, the FIA introduced stricter tests in Barcelona for the front-wings, increasing the load and reducing the tolerances of wing flex. 

It was hoped that the new rules would be able to rein in McLaren, but it dominated the weekend, leading every session and setting a fastest race lap 1.2s quicker than next best, incidentally, Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. 

Mercedes bounced back from its Monaco double non-score, with George Russell taking fourth, having qualified there with Kimi Antonelli also set for a points return, but suffering a power unit failure, the cause of which is currently under investigation. 

Evaluating the effectiveness of the new rules, Allison quipped that "space aliens" would have been none the wiser about the new rules.

"I think if space aliens were watching it from afar, they would probably not have detected that a technical directive happened in Spain, it does have an effect," Allison explained. 

"The fact that the wings stiffen up means that it tends, all other things being equal, will tend to make the car more nervous as you turn into a high-speed corner, all other things being equal. 

"But you can mitigate that with other parts of the setup of the car, and even if you can't mitigate them fully, neither can everyone else. 

"So while it is less optimal as a design for the car's performance, the fact that everyone else is having to eat it as well means that the relative pecking order doesn't shift a lot."