Lando Norris makes surprising McLaren claim over controversial rule change

Lando Norris has denied McLaren has been forced into making alterations to its rear wing in light of the stricter tests imposed by the FIA this weekend.

Over the winter break, F1 teams were informed by the FIA that they would face tighter restrictions regarding the flexing movement of the rear wings.

All 10 teams were subject to scrutiny at the season-opening race in Australia and although none fell foul of the rules, it was decided that the rear wing movement would be restricted further, starting from the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.

The 2mm tolerance of movement has been reduced to 0.5mm for Shanghai - although a slight disparity of 0.25mm will be tolerated for the upcoming round due to how quickly the changes have been enforced.

McLaren has been at the forefront of flexi-wing chatter since its rear wing was seen to be visibly altering at high speed in Baku last year before it opted to change the assembly following discussions with the FIA.

With fresh measures now in place, Norris asserted the latest change is not directed at McLaren.

“We don’t have to change anything,” Norris told media including RacingNews365. “Ours is fine.

“In fact, ours is probably too good and we probably are not pushing the limits enough. 

“If this technical directive was applied for last weekend, we’d also be fine. 

“It’s not directed at us, it seems it’s directed at other teams which probably means we need to push it a little bit more.”

A recent report suggested Red Bull sought clarity from the FIA regarding flexi-wings at pre-season testing in Bahrain.

As well as the new rear-wing measures in place, teams will face stricter tests regarding front-wing flexing from the Spanish Grand Prix event at the end of May.