http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86109 The FIA is to ramp up its flexi bodywork tests further for the Italian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned, in a move to stop teams gaining a potential unfair advantage. Although it is widely known that the FIA is to increase the loads it uses to test deflection of the front wings from this weekends Belgian Grand Prix, sources have revealed that even more action is to be taken for the next event in Monza. Amid mounting speculation that the lower front wings observed on the Red Bull Racing and Ferrari cars are being put into use through clever flexing of the cars floor, rather than the wings flexing down themselves, the FIA is to introduce extra tests on the underside area of the car. In a document sent to teams during the summer break by Charlie Whiting, FIA technical chiefs have been informed that extra tests are to take place on the floor of the chassis - especially in the tea tray area at the front edge. The teams have not been told exactly what the tests will be - only that they will take place 380mm behind the front wheel centre line at points 100mm either side of the car centre line.
In this shadowy world of ever changing and unpredictably nebulous rules such speculation is to be expected. Until we have a rational set of clear unchanging rules anything is conceivable. Depending on one's mindset the bogey man might be McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari or even Virgin.
Mclaren International Assistance >>>LOL hell RD should have gone years ago.. The bogey man has left the building.. I hope...I'am still giving Todt the benefit of doubt it is still early days, be sure I will turn like a viper in the grass if not .
How this matter is handled will be a good indication if there has been a meaningful change. Until Max opened his yap we all seemed content to wait and see.
+1 Except, the main man has reclused himself IIRC (?) - I dunno, but I'd like to see him stand up there and say "this is F1, damnit, there's always been team orders/#1 and #2 drivers, those that claim it's wrong don't understand that a single point *often* (these days!) is the difference between winning and losing - Let's delete the damn rule!" Cheers, Ian
With the tests they have now, they are just inviting a team to try to circumvent the rules by designing to pass the test and then have something else happen on the track. Unless you are willing to disqualify somebody for violating the rule you don't have any teeth in the rule. What they need is a surface that they can drive over at speed that has sensors in it that can measure the height of the car as it passes over it. Then drive the cars over the surface at as high high speed on each track. That would be simple to do with lasers and all it would require is that the car be painted white or with a special reflective paint on the lower surfaces. Or even easier, just define the max deflection that the wing can have and use the on car cameras to verify it. It was pretty obvious what the relative deflections were in the Red Bull car and if you calibrate the camera you could easily figure out what's happening. Then you would end this nonsense with flexible bottoms or wings.....
The F1 rules were changing constantly in the 1960s and 1970s. Every time Colin Chapman came up with some revolutionary design it would be banned soon after or in some cases before it could race. This is nothing new and F1 has always been about pushing the limits.
This is true, think of the Brabham (? I suddenly doubt myself) fan car that ran away with one race before being banned. That was probably the most blatant movable aero device ever seen, though it was claimed it was for cooling purposes.
When I drove my Lotus at the Goodwood Festival of Speed the same year JimG was there with his P4/5, they were running those cars and they are the loudest things you can imagine. If you think a modern F1 car is loud you have no idea
