Help a poor befuddled fan. Was the floppy wing legal? Apparently despite early reports. In fact Ferrari were forced to start with it or loose Massa's grid spot. But when he started with it the flop was gone (for awhile). Meanwhile Mr Alonso had no wing issues all weekend but gave cryptic thanks to the crew for last second repairs. Huh? BTW I've been off the PKs for a while so they're not to blame for my confusion
I don't believe him at all. His statement is very much worded like a smokescreen. I agree with your initial assessment...there was no way that there was a defect. There was a clear structural difference between the two wings (Alonso's and Massa's).
Glad it's not the pain meds responsible.... It is quite the conundrum right now, huh!.... I believe the above is a correct summary though. We're pretty sure Charlie had a word with 'em about it and I'm surprised a famous Charlie "clarification" wasn't issued as a result - Ergo, it must be legal for now at least [Expect the load test rules to change again next season ] If Stefano is telling the truth it only went into "bird mode" on some occasions - Certainly speed related, but possibly also wind direction/strength was messing with it and it almost appeared to start oscillating at times. He also claims it was just that *specific* wing and others built to the same specs didn't do it - So maybe they just screwed up somewhere. Cheers, Ian
Not that it settles anything but thanks. Interesting to wonder if it was an experiment that succeeded or one that failed.
Indeed! Assuming they figure out what was going on - Stefano is claiming they've got to study the data as they're confused by it (!) I'd say a success. They may not be able to go as radical next year, but they should learn from a "failure" if they can work out what happened. Cheers, Ian
Let's take it a step further. The function of the front wing is keyed to all the aero that follows it downstream. What sort of innovative body work would benefit from a floppy wing?
RBR's earlier this season!..... That ****storm seems to have died, but general consensus from the peanut gallery is you want that sucker as low as possible - I agree you don't want it doing the bird thing, but if they can get a handle on it they may have a nice starting point for further R&D. Cheers, Ian
I still say the secret is that birds fly faster if they flap their wings! (Apart from a Peregrine falcon in a dive, but that's not relevant to F1!) The latest on Autosport.com: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95822 : Domenicali is adamant that the wing design used by Massa was identical in all respects to the one run by Fernando Alonso over the weekend - despite suspicions there may be differences in its structure, replying "absolutely, absolutely" when asked if the wings were the same. He added that the team elected to change the wing at the pitstop because Massa was already coming in with a puncture. "We were worried about also having other problems, so the most obvious thing was also to change the nose," Domenicali said.
