FIA flexi-wing checks begin in Belgian GP practice as selected teams revealed
Max Verstappen leads the field at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race
Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren are among the ‘select’ F1 teams running extra cameras in Belgian Grand Prix practice as the FIA monitor the flexing of front wings.
PlanetF1.com revealed ahead of last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix that several teams would run extra cameras in practice at Spa in a bid to enhance the FIA’s understanding of the level of flexing.
Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren running FIA cameras in Belgian GP practice
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
While all teams have been found to be fully in compliance with the regulations regarding the level of flexibility of their front wings, the FIA is eager to have a closer look at what some of the teams are doing.
To that end, several teams are running with extra cameras fitted to their cars during Friday’s practice sessions in Belgium in order to capture video footage of what their front wings are doing under aerodynamic load.
Only ‘selected’ teams will run with the extra cameras, with the reason for not running on every car understood by PlanetF1.com to be due to a limited number of cameras being available for the data-gathering exercise.
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Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com prior to FP1 at Spa, Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin confirmed that the Silver Arrows would be running the FIA’s cameras, which have also been spotted on the cars of Ferrari and McLaren in the Spa pit lane.
PlanetF1.com understands that Red Bull, as well as the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, are also running the cameras.
Asked if the FIA’s cameras are on the W15 car for Friday practice, Shovlin replied: “They are.
“We haven’t got a concern on the flexibility because, like any bit of the car that’s subject to a deflection test, it’s designed to pass the test.
“That activity is one of data collection. I think they’re trying to understand what the entire grid is doing in terms of the stiffness and the flexibility on track.
“We’ll help them with that, we’ll collect the data, we’ll see what’s next.
“But we’re not concerned about the regulation.”
Explaining the measure – detailed in Technical Directive TD034G – in Hungary last weekend, an FIA spokesperson told PlanetF1.com: “The FIA has decided, starting from Belgium onward for an indefinite period of time, to measure the overall front wing deformation on track.
“The FOM forward-facing cameras are unfortunately not capable of capturing the complete front wing as a large outboard part is not covered by the angle.
“The intent will therefore be to measure across several events all front wings with a camera provided by the FIA which will be installed on the nose (in place of current camera housings) offering a sideways view.
“The collected data will be used to enhance the overall understanding of bodywork flexibility when defining future regulations.”
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