RED BULL advisor Helmut Marko has furiously demanded that a mid-season rule change be SCRAPPED hours before 2025 campaign kicks off.
The new campaign gets underway in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, with practice starting on Friday.
Marko is incensed over the governing body’s plan to introduce stricter stress tests for F1 car front wings in the MIDDLE of the season.
Aerodynamic regulations have always been a battleground where teams push the boundaries of what is legal and find creative ways to squeeze more performance out of their cars.
One such area of innovation has been flexible wings – parts that remain rigid enough to pass static FIA tests, but bend during high-speed racing.
Teams argue that the flexibility reduces drag on straights, improving top speed, while maintaining high downforce in corners.
The FIA have introduced stricter front wing regulations to come into force at the Spanish Grand Prix in June, in answer to the technical debate.
Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Marko raged: “It’s madness.
“Either the new rule applies from the start of the season or not at all.
“It’s insane. It’s virtually impossible to do a comprehensive inspection of the bend. The teams have much more manpower than the FIA.
“Now everyone except the smaller teams have built a wing that bends.
“It’s crazy that they can throw them away in the middle of the season.”
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But the Red Bull advisor did find one silver lining for his team as everybody on the grid will be affected by the change.
He added: “No one else handles a shaky car as well as Max Verstappen.”
Most teams have already built their 2024 cars with some degree of front wing flexibility within the previous FIA guidelines.
The mid-season change will upset strategies as they will have already designed their cars to meet the existing rules.
Meanwhile, this comes after Red Bull themselves complained about rear wings ahead of the start of the season.
As a result, rear wing tests will be tightened immediately – starting in Melbourne on Sunday.
And Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari faces a thorough FIA investigation, as does Lando Norris’ McLaren.
Elsewhere, the minimum driver weight allowance has been increased from 80kg to 82kg and a driver cooling kit has been introduced.
The technical regulations remain the same, so most teams will have an evolution in car design from 2024.
Meanwhile, everybody will have half an eye on 2026 when the cars and engines will change completely.
