Singapore GP: McLaren asked by FIA to change controversial rear wing after rivals question legality

McLaren have been asked to change their rear wing following questions over its legality from their rivals at the Singapore Grand Prix.

An on-board shot from the car of Oscar Piastri, during his victory at last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, appeared to show a part of McLaren’s rear wing flexing upwards on the main straight, and subsequently attracted significant attention on social media.

Only a certain amount of flexing is allowed on bodywork parts of an F1 car and McLaren’s rear wing received a query from at least one team, including Red Bull.

Sky Sports News understands that the sport’s governing body, the FIA, has asked McLaren to change their rear wing from this weekend’s race in Singapore, with seven events remaining this season.

McLaren confirmed later on Friday that they would be adjusting their rear wing.

“Whilst our Baku rear wing complies with the regulations and passes all FIA deflection tests, McLaren have proactively offered to make some minor adjustments to the wing following our conversations with the FIA,” a statement read.

“We would also expect the FIA to have similar conversations with other teams in relation to the compliance of their rear wings.

How did McLaren’s controversial rear wing help?

The McLaren rear wing appears to flex on straights as the car’s speed increases, with a gap between the main plane and flap opening up, so drag is reduced and the top speed goes up.

It has a similar effect to the drag reduction system (DRS) run by all teams, where a hole in the rear wing increases straight line speed. This similarity has led some to describe the trick as a ‘mini-DRS’.

When the driver hits the brakes, or is travelling at a slower speed, the rear wing goes back to normal, so downforce is optimised.

Prior to Sky Sports News learning about the FIA’s request to McLaren, chief executive Zak Brown reiterated his team’s car had “passed every single test”.

“These Formula 1 engineers are very clever. They’ve certainly had some pretty awesome race cars the last decade, and it’s passed the test. So good on our team for coming up with something that is high performance,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“I think it’s great for the championship. We’re running at the front, so there are going to be things that are clearly working well on our race car. And to your point, everyone else is going to try to speed up and slow us down at the same time. Welcome to Formula 1.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated he would be “surprised” if we saw the rear wing again prior to Brown’s comments.

Brown added: “I think it’s inevitable now that we’re leading the championship that everyone will be looking at our car and saying, ‘not sure I like that’, and that’s the nature of the game.”

Vasseur: McLaren rear wing not a grey area

The complaints come as Norris attempts to chase down Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, with the Brit having closed to within 59 points of the Red Bull driver.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc described the McLaren rear wing as “controversial” and Frederic Vasseur pointed out the wing is mostly beneficial on tracks with long straights such as Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi to come later in the season.

“The front wing we agree is a grey area because you can’t design a part of the car with the intention of deformation [flexing]. Intention is difficult to manage,” explained Vasseur.

“The rear wing story is completely different because in the article [regulations] there is a maximum deflection. This is not grey. It’s black and black. For me, it’s clear.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Singapore GP schedule

Saturday September 21
8am: F1 Academy Race One
10.15am: Singapore GP Practice Three (session starts 10.30am)
1pm: Singapore GP Qualifying build-up
2pm: SINGAPORE GP QUALIFYING*
4pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday September 22
8.30am: F1 Academy Race Two
11:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: The SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1’s thrilling 2024 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend with more stunning street circuit action, this time under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime

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