While Red Bull is fuming over the lack of rigor from the FIA regarding the wings of its competitors, Ferrari and McLaren are hiding behind the regulations. Under what conditions does the FIA carry out its checks? Let’s delve into these inspections.
Every Grand Prix weekend, the FIA garage is a crucial location. Drivers pass through it for weighing, after qualifying or the race, in front of the cameras. But on Thursdays, away from prying eyes, the teams come one by one to verify the measurements of the car they are assembling. This is where the mechanics’ police, led by the venerable Jo Bauer, the technical delegate of the International Federation, the last survivor of the late Charlie Whiting’s troops (who passed away in March 2019), scrutinize whether these F1 cars comply with the technical regulations.
In the past, templates were used to help the mechanics ensure their work was accurate. Today, cameras supervise the assembly. Ten minutes spent in front of this technological marvel allows for precise drawings down to the micron. However, there are still some large tools that the engineers of the FIA’s technical direction use to prevent fraud.
For several weeks, the Federation has been dealing with the controversy of early 2025, a nice remake of the one at the end of 2024 when, in Monza and then Baku, the rear wing of the McLarens showed a significant weakness in resistance on the endless straight lines. The DRS of the papaya single-seater had, at high speed, the annoying tendency to slightly open and thus let air pass, reducing the car’s drag and allowing for a better top speed.
Since then, other teams have this feature, like Ferrari or Mercedes, whose entire wing seems to sag at high speed, which allows them to circumvent the rule that prohibits having on the single-seater “moving parts that provide a performance boost”.
Cameras focused on the wings
During the free practice on Friday, the FIA installed cameras focused on the wings to film their deformation in the pit straight. This was a way of warning the teams that the checks would be strict. However, the work had already been done in advance. First this winter, with discreet but unexpected visits to the factory to ensure that everything was in order in the design and manufacture of such parts. Then with the test set up to verify, using a small device that simulates the pressure exerted by high speeds, that the carbon blade resists well and does not open. And if a team brings a new part to a GP, the FIA will test it during the weekend, just to make sure everything remains in order.
Max Verstappen Faces the FIA’s Tougher Sanctions
Red Bull is battling the FIA for stricter checks. Ferrari, which last year supported Milton Keynes, has now changed its tune and aligns with McLaren: “If we pass the tests, it means we are in compliance.” The technical verification engineers are sometimes accused of compromising with the teams and the regulations. But in the case of Ferrari’s clearly illegal and supercharged engine in 2019, they did not back down, eventually condemning the Scuderia.
In Austin in 2023, regarding the wear of the floor of Lewis Hamilton‘s Mercedes and Charles Leclerc‘s Ferrari, they did not give in, disqualifying both drivers for a few millimeters. However, they sometimes tolerate minor excesses. The floor of the Ferrari and Mercedes was very – too – worn in several places. If it had only been worn in one place, the marshals would probably have shown some leniency.
Every team finds the marshals too lenient (with the opponent) or too harsh (with them) because the rule, for now, in Formula 1, remains simple: you pass the checks and you are cleared or you fail them and you are banned. Just ask the three F2 teams who cheated in private testing, installing sensors to measure pressure. They are now condemned to ten places on the grid, deprived of testing while the other teams will be offered three days of testing with sensors.
It is said that the guys from the first garage are looking for other subtleties on the dominant F1s, a little something less visible than the wings but devilishly effective.
