F1 Correspondent - Where has the McLaren Advantage Gone?
The ‘mini-DRS’ fiasco started after Baku or the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Piastri strolled to a comfortable win with just under 11 seconds in his bag when he crossed the line. The cameras captured the rear wing flexing significantly more under load than other teams, reducing the drag and simulating a DRS situation even when the rear wing was closed.
Zak Brown, McLaren Team Principal, was quick to call it a distraction, saying his team was suffering from success. In his words:
“Whoever’s winning, everyone’s always staring at the car to understand what they’re doing…It’s totally natural that people are staring at our car at the moment and then coming to conclusions, a lot of them incorrectly.”
“We’ve passed every single test.” he said when his team first came under scrutiny.
However, it now appears that Lando and Piastri's advantage of the flexi rear wing may have been greater than what Zak Brown had let on. However, the FIA did not seem to agree. While the car passed the tests when stationary, evidence of how it behaved meant changes needed to be made to the rear wing ahead of the just concluded Grand Prix at Austin, Texas.Nikolas Tombazis, the director of the FIA's Single Seater Department, said:
"We don't want the amount of opening there to exceed 2mm. "There's some natural opening because of the way the wings are mounted and deform and so on, but some teams were deforming more."
McLaren, in compliance to the directive has made clear that regulations were made to its full range of rear wings towards the USGP and the numbers since doing so speak for themselves.
Before the United States Grand Prix in Texas, either one of the McLaren drivers was on the top podium at four of the last six Grand Prix, starting in Round 13, Hungary, and ending in Round 18, Singapore.
The race in Singapore saw Lando cross the finish line, leading by 20 seconds and 22 seconds at the Dutch Grand Prix in the Netherlands. However, since the changes in Austin, the papaya team has been unable to replicate their impressive form. While it is still too early to call, and it can be down to a number of factors like the type of track, driver error, or other teams bringing upgrades and catching up, there are still people in the paddock who believe the rear wing changes must have had some effect.
For many, the result of the Mexican Grand Prix will determine if the McLaren team has indeed lost its edge and by how much. But with Lando already qualifying third and behind Max Verstappen and his teammate down in 17th, the race this Sunday already looks ominous.
Regardless, the FIA’s swift action is testament to their committed dedication to ensuring fairness across the teams. With dots fitted on the rear wing of all teams and rear-facing cameras to show the level of deformity for the cars when they hit the track, viewers, and fans of F1 the world over can rest assured that all the advantages are gained fairly and only on the track
