In videos circulated during and after the Chinese Grand Prix attention had been paid to closing movement of the front wing of the Mercedes W17. The appendix had a decidedly particular behavior, returning to its initial position not with a single click but in two phases. This had triggered the suspicions of rival teamswith some – including Ferrari, as reported by AutoRacer.it – who would have asked the Federation in-depth analysis to evaluate any regulatory violations.
In fact, it was assumed that this movement exceeded 400 milliseconds as required by the regulations in force.
The double movement: there is no trick
No illegality, no tricks. The header The Race in fact he reported that the FIA accepted Mercedes’ explanation: there was no intentional act on the part of the team, but a simple calculation error.
The front wing of the W17 returned to its original position more slowly for a while incorrect calculation on hydraulic pressurewhich was not sufficient to return the wing to the closed mode when the car was traveling above a certain speed.
Confirming Mercedes’ good faith, in Q2 in Shanghai George Russell had his front wing changed for this very reason and Between the China and Japan races, work was done in Brackley to improve the hydraulic systems and make them more efficient.
The FIA therefore explained to the teams who requested a verification to be satisfied with Mercedes’ efforts to resolve the front wing problem, stressing that nothing had been deliberately done to breach the regulations.
Finally we read on The Race: “Furthermore, analysis has suggested that, rather than being an advantage, a slowly closing wing worsens lap time, due to the impact it has when braking into corners.”
