Stricter F1 rule offers Max Verstappen and Red Bull advantage

The controversy surrounding flexible rear wings is far from over in Formula 1, following the FIA's announcement of further rule changes.  Just a day after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, motorsport's governing body announced that further rule changes will be introduced in the next two races.  It concerns a new measure against a mini-DRS, a major topic in the pinnacle of motorsport. A new technical directive for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix has been announced, ahead of a further change for the Japanese Grand Prix. The current tolerance of 2mm on rear wing movement tests will be reduced to 0.5mm from the Japanese GP onwards For this weekend's Chinese GP, although the new tolerance will be in place, due to the short notice of the decision, a further discrepancy of 0.25mm will also be permitted. The FIA explained in an announcement on Monday that the new technical directive was due to video footage from Albert Park showing the continuation of rear wings flexing too much. Despite this, all cars passed the rear wing tests in Melbourne.

Advantage Red Bull

McLaren in particular caused a stir in the season-opener, due to a relatively large gap between the upper part of its rear wing and the lower flap.  RacingNews365 understands that when using a flexible rear wing to its full potential, the advantage can be anywhere up to three to four tenths per lap.  A flexible rear wing also allows a team to set its cars up with more downforce and sacrifice minimal top speed. It helps to corner better, maintain good top speed and suffer less tyre wear.  The stricter rules introduced by the FIA appear to be a huge positive for Max Verstappen and Red Bull.  Verstappen struggled to remain with the McLarens during the season-opener, especially when his intermediate tyres quickly began to wear after just eight laps.  As for McLaren, it managed to continue pushing at top speed, whilst Verstappen's pace worsened.  Starting this weekend in China, McLaren will be forced into making key choices. Reducing the flexibility of the rear wing further will increase tyre wear, increase the challenge to maintain top speed but also reduce corner speed. A car's balance will also become more difficult to manage, raising questions over just how much the new technical directive will impact McLaren.  Red Bull could benefit, with the Milton Keynes-based outfit having not used a rear wing in Australia which had an opening.