OLIO Hamilton calls on FIA to stop Red Bull favouritism During the Spanish Grand Prix, Sir Lewis Hamilton said that he had noticed the rear wing of title rivals Red Bull looked to be flexible, gaining them three tenths down the main straight at Barcelona. After the weekend was over, the FIA announced it would tighten load testing requirements for the part and that by mid-June, teams will have to comply with rules which allow for less flexible rear wings. However, the cars are allowed until July to fully align with the new regulations, and as such Hamilton told Sky Sports that the FIA was adopting a wait-and-see approach with the rules, potentially handing Red Bull an advantage. "It’s going to be worth at least six-tenths there (Baku), probably,” Hamilton said. "I think we need to continue to apply pressure to the FIA to just do a better job of controlling things, you know? "If you look at the last race, for example, we were supposed to all keep our (tyre) blankets on in qualifying. Red Bull were allowed to take theirs off, and no-one else is allowed to. So I think we just need to make sure it’s consistent for everyone. "What you’ve got to acknowledge is that these engineers are geniuses, so if you leave them wiggle room, they will wiggle."
Wolff: F1 risks protests with "half-baked" flexi-wing tweak By: Jonathan Noble May 20, 2021, 8:31 AM Formula 1 is at risk of a messy protest situation at the Baku Grand Prix over the ‘half-baked’ delay in imposing new flexi rear wing tests, warns Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. With the FIA introducing a fresh clampdown on ‘bendy’ wings from the French GP, there is mounting concern from some outfits about the benefits their rivals can get by continuing to run their flexible designs for the next two races. While the advantage of a flexing rear wing is minimal at this weekend's Monaco GP because of the lack of straights, it could offer a decisive lap time benefit in Baku next month thanks to the ultra-long run out of the final corner. Wolff does not understand why there has been a four-week delay to the introduction of new tests, and he fears that F1 could end in a messy legal situation if protests are lodged in Baku. “Delaying the introduction for whatever reason leaves us in a legal vacuum and leaves the door open for protests,” said Wolff at the Monaco Grand Prix. “It's not only us but it's probably two other teams that are most affected, maybe more, and obviously a protest could end up in the ICA [International Court of Appeal]. “That is a messy situation and can take weeks before we have a result. And we should have not ended in this situation if we're having four weeks until the race that is most relevant in the calendar.” Wolff understands why an immediate introduction of new tests would have been unfair, but thinks that the delay beyond Baku makes no sense at all. https://www.autosport.com/f1/n...aked-flexi-wing-tweak/6511932/
I lolled at Christian Horner "I don't know Toto's business, although he seems to know everyone's business." He's quite prickly about Mercedes complaining about red bull's rear wing flex. He suggested maybe they should turn the camera around and check front wings.
Vettel is currently behind his teammate by 5 points. Dan is currently behind his teammate by 17 points. Just saying.