McLaren confirms ‘mini-DRS’ rear wing changes following FIA conversations after Baku

McLaren will make revisions to its lower-downforce rear wing following some back-and-forth with the FIA.

After the ‘mini-DRS’ rear wing flexibility of the McLaren MCL38 was spotted on TV footage during last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the FIA has engaged in conversation with the Woking-based squad – who now must make revisions to the rear wing going forward.

McLaren confirms changes to MCL38 rear wing

The lower-downforce McLaren rear wing package used by the team at Monza and Baku saw the ‘mini-DRS’ effect become evident via footage looking backward from race leader Oscar Piastri as he defended against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc down the main straight in Baku.

Even without DRS, the rear wing’s flex saw the upper plane of the wing separating slightly from the lower – resulting in a reduction of drag before the planes would close back together when the speed dropped.

While the rear wing has passed FIA scrutineering and all current static tests, the attention being paid to the rear wing led to an unnamed team approaching the governing body to air its concerns.

Following discussions between McLaren and the FIA, the championship leaders have confirmed it will be making revisions to the rear wing of its lower downforce package – the next expected race the package is likely to be used is the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

“Whilst our Baku rear wing complies with the regulations and passes all FIA deflection tests, McLaren has proactively offered to make some minor adjustments to the wing following our conversations with the FIA,” McLaren said in a statement provided to media, including PlanetF1.com.

“We would also expect the FIA to have similar conversations with other teams in relation to the compliance of their rear wings.”

Red Bull’s Christian Horner and technical director Pierre Waché met with the FIA’s single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis late on Thursday night to discuss the McLaren rear wing and air their concerns, although it’s not clear whether a formal complaint was lodged with the governing body representative at this time.

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Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the news, McLaren CEO Zak Brown was quizzed on the topic of the flexible rear wing, saying: “It’s passed every single test. So I think this is Formula 1, and it’s clever engineering, and the FIA is fine with it. So it’s business as usual.”

Elaborating, Brown said the governing body had been kept abreast of the changes being made to the MCL38, and the FIA had no issue with the rear wing design.

“They’re fully aware of everything that’s on our race car, and they’re comfortable,” he said.

“So I think it’s inevitable, now that we’re leading the championship, that everyone will be looking at our car and go ‘I’m not sure I like that and like that’, and that’s the nature of the game.”

Horner had previously said he would be “surprised if we saw it again”, referring to the rear wing, as he spoke to Sky Sport Italy.

PlanetF1.com understands a formal complaint has also been lodged regarding the McLaren front wings.

Coming into the weekend, the FIA confirmed its stance on the McLaren rear wing fuss by saying: “The FIA is closely monitoring the flexibility of bodywork on all cars and reserves the right to request teams to make modifications at any point during the season.

“However, if a team successfully passes all deflection tests and adheres to the regulations and technical directives, they are deemed to be in full compliance, and no further action will be taken.

“The FIA is currently reviewing data and any additional evidence that has emerged from the Baku GP and is considering any mitigating measures for future implementation.

“This is part of the standard process when scrutineering technical legality, and the FIA retains the authority to introduce regulatory changes during the season if required.”

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