FIA request for modification to McLaren rear wing irks Ferrari’s Vasseur

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur voiced frustration after learning that the FIA has asked McLaren to make changes to a rear wing that it recently used. Rearward-facing cameras in Baku showed McLaren’s rear wing to be flexing to the extent it opened up a small slot where the DRS flap would usually open, potentially leading to a top speed boost when not using DRS. The FIA has confirmed to RACER that is has “asked for a small amendment on the wing as is customary when discussing technical matters with teams,” although it is not a configuration that is likely to be used in Singapore. Vasseur says recent discussions regarding the McLaren front wing was an understandable point that was open to debate, but he feels the rear wing regulations are clear to all. “I think there is a kind of confusion between what happened with the front wing and the rear wing,” Vasseur said. “The front wing, we all agree that it could be a gray area because the first paragraph of the TD is saying you can’t design part of the car with the intention of the deformation. Intention is difficult to manage. “The rear wing story is completely different, because in the article you also have a maximum deflection, and this is black or white. It’s not gray, or dark gray, or light gray. It’s black and black. And for me it’s clear.” With McLaren locking out the front row in Monza and then Oscar Piastri holding off Charles Leclerc for victory in Azerbaijan, Vasseur says the close nature of the races makes it frustrating that such small margins could make a major difference. “We had a look on the previous events and it was only on the low-downforce tracks,” he said. “I’m not sure that they want to use the same trick in Singapore or in Zandvoort, for example. “But we have to give the responsibility for the scrutineering to the FIA. It’s not my job to do it, it’s not James’ job, or whatever. They have to do it and we have to trust them. Honestly, I’m not complaining about this. “I think it’s more than borderline. We all saw the videos and pictures of this, and it’s a bit frustrating when, if you remember the situation in Monza, we had five cars in two hundredths of a second, and you move from P1 or P2 to P5 or P6 for two hundredths of a second. In Baku we had 10 laps in a row when we arrived side-by-side at Turn 1, so you can imagine that we have a bit of frustration.”