The innovative concepts, involving the Mercedes front wing endplate and the Aston Martin rear wing, have been made illegal by changes to F1’s technical regulations.
Both concepts raised eyebrows when introduced because, while fully abiding by the wording of the rules and being deemed legal by the FIA, they seemed to run counter to a broad concept that car designs to increase performance didn’t make it harder for the cars to keep up with each other.
Mercedes’ radical front wing endplate first appeared at the Miami Grand Prix and featured a unique design at the intersection between the fold-down section and the endplate.
This was done in order to try and recover some of the outpouring that was lost with the new regulations.
The flaps had been swept forward very aggressively in the outer section so that the rear lower edge of the endplate was completely detached from the flaps.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin was in the limelight at the Hungarian Grand Prix when it introduced a rear wing design which appeared to breach one of the main intentions of the 2022 rules.
His design featured a unique layout on the front part of the endplate that allowed the mainplane to stick to it in a more traditional way, increasing its reach and the downforce that could be generated.
The new regulations had hoped to bid farewell to the traditional endplate and fender interaction of the past, with a curved transition between the elements.
This was designed to reduce the force of the peak vortex, thereby limiting airflow disruptions and contributing to the overall goal of making cars easier to track.
While the FIA was happy with both concepts to allow them to be used this year, formal adjustments have been made to the 2023 technical regulations to ensure that the gray areas that allowed them have been cleared up.
FIA single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis said: “Obviously this year they were both legal. The regulations changed front and rear in different ways to stop these solutions.”
This was done by modifying the rules which are now stricter regarding the rear swept of the front wing flaps, as well as being more specific on the rear wingtip definitions.
Performance advantage
Aston Martin AMR22 rear wing detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Although Aston Martin’s idea is now banned, its performance director Tom McCullough said he was still proud that his team had created something so bold amid the restrictive 2022 rules.
“I think what was good this year was the fact that we came up with something fresh and new,” he said when asked by Autosport for his opinion on the ban.
“It was a very difficult interpretation of the rules that added performance to our car. It was a part that people couldn’t just quickly copy due to the complexity of getting around so many different regulations.
“So in a way we kind of had that advantage this year because by the time we brought it to Budapest it’s quite late for people to react to understand it and from the cost cap [perspective], they had already made their high downforce wings. So for me, I was really happy.
“A lot of people have been involved in this project for a long time, many months back and forth between the FIA. But I understand: our job is always to make the most of the regulations and, if they change, we we have to really adapt to that.”
Appropriate processes
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Tombazis made it clear that while there is language in the rules that prevents teams from introducing designs that harm racing, the FIA will still follow the appropriate regulatory processes to close down such possibilities.
This means discussing it with the teams and going through the F1 Commission and the FIA World Motor Sport Council to make changes for the following seasons.
Article 3.2.1 of the F1 Technical Regulations states: “An important objective of the Regulations in Article 3 is to allow cars to race closely, ensuring that the loss of aerodynamic performance of a car that follows another car is kept to a minimum. In order to verify whether this objective has been achieved, Competitors may be required, on request, to provide the FIA with any relevant information.
When asked if the changes for 2023 were driven by concerns about designs that harm racing, Tombazis replied: “Some of the things we’ve changed the rules for are in that category.
But this article [3.2] wasn’t meant to be, “Okay, if you’re smart and have a solution, we’ll get it out of the car immediately.” He was simply explaining why we sometimes had to intervene with the regulations.
“But we still did it through governance. We don’t have the right to just say, ‘we don’t like it, let’s ban it’.”
The innovative concepts, involving the Mercedes front wing endplate and the Aston Martin rear wing, have been made illegal by changes to F1’s technical regulations.
Both concepts raised eyebrows when introduced because, while fully abiding by the wording of the rules and being deemed legal by the FIA, they seemed to run counter to a broad concept that car designs to increase performance didn’t make it harder for the cars to keep up with each other.
Mercedes’ radical front wing endplate first appeared at the Miami Grand Prix and featured a unique design at the intersection between the fold-down section and the endplate.
This was done in order to try and recover some of the outpouring that was lost with the new regulations.
The flaps had been swept forward very aggressively in the outer section so that the rear lower edge of the endplate was completely detached from the flaps.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin was in the limelight at the Hungarian Grand Prix when it introduced a rear wing design which appeared to breach one of the main intentions of the 2022 rules.
His design featured a unique layout on the front part of the endplate that allowed the mainplane to stick to it in a more traditional way, increasing its reach and the downforce that could be generated.
The new regulations had hoped to bid farewell to the traditional endplate and fender interaction of the past, with a curved transition between the elements.
This was designed to reduce the force of the peak vortex, thereby limiting airflow disruptions and contributing to the overall goal of making cars easier to track.
While the FIA was happy with both concepts to allow them to be used this year, formal adjustments have been made to the 2023 technical regulations to ensure that the gray areas that allowed them have been cleared up.
FIA single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis said: “Obviously this year they were both legal. The regulations changed front and rear in different ways to stop these solutions.”
This was done by modifying the rules which are now stricter regarding the rear swept of the front wing flaps, as well as being more specific on the rear wingtip definitions.
Performance advantage
Aston Martin AMR22 rear wing detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Although Aston Martin’s idea is now banned, its performance director Tom McCullough said he was still proud that his team had created something so bold amid the restrictive 2022 rules.
“I think what was good this year was the fact that we came up with something fresh and new,” he said when asked by Autosport for his opinion on the ban.
“It was a very difficult interpretation of the rules that added performance to our car. It was a part that people couldn’t just quickly copy due to the complexity of getting around so many different regulations.
“So in a way we kind of had that advantage this year because by the time we brought it to Budapest it’s quite late for people to react to understand it and from the cost cap [perspective], they had already made their high downforce wings. So for me, I was really happy.
“A lot of people have been involved in this project for a long time, many months back and forth between the FIA. But I understand: our job is always to make the most of the regulations and, if they change, we we have to really adapt to that.”
Appropriate processes
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Tombazis made it clear that while there is language in the rules that prevents teams from introducing designs that harm racing, the FIA will still follow the appropriate regulatory processes to close down such possibilities.
This means discussing it with the teams and going through the F1 Commission and the FIA World Motor Sport Council to make changes for the following seasons.
Article 3.2.1 of the F1 Technical Regulations states: “An important objective of the Regulations in Article 3 is to allow cars to race closely, ensuring that the loss of aerodynamic performance of a car that follows another car is kept to a minimum. In order to verify whether this objective has been achieved, Competitors may be required, on request, to provide the FIA with any relevant information.
When asked if the changes for 2023 were driven by concerns about designs that harm racing, Tombazis replied: “Some of the things we’ve changed the rules for are in that category.
But this article [3.2] wasn’t meant to be, “Okay, if you’re smart and have a solution, we’ll get it out of the car immediately.” He was simply explaining why we sometimes had to intervene with the regulations.
“But we still did it through governance. We don’t have the right to just say, ‘we don’t like it, let’s ban it’.”