There has been a lot of discussion of bendy wings on the sub and in the wider F1 world over the last few days. I’ve seen a lot of selective interpretation of the regulations as well as a lot of opinion about what the rules should say masquerading as fact about what they do say. None of this is unexpected (we are on the internet, after all), but I thought I’d try to take as unbiased a look as I can at the technical regulations, what is and is not legal and what the FIA can do about it.
Summary (TL;DR)
The regulations do not allow any movement of bodywork, but given this is physically impossible under load, further allow for incidental flexibility with specific tolerances and tests laid out in the rules.
The FIA has the right to introduce new tests mid-season if it suspects teams have been able to circumvent the current tests, without this being a change to the rules.
Cars that fail the new tests are illegal. It is ambiguous as to whether they are illegal only from that point or from the earliest point it can be proven they would have failed the tests.
That ambiguity is likely on purpose, to allow the FIA leeway in how it treats situations. So far it appears to be on a path to treat illegality only prospectively, in line with no cars seeming to have a dominant advantage.
The Technical Regulations
The first port of call is regulation 3.8, which unequivocally states that any movement at all in bodywork with aerodynamic influence (which includes the rear wing) is illegal.
3.8 Aerodynamic influence
With the exception of the parts described in Articles 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6, and the rear view mirrors described in Article 14.3, any specific part of the car influencing its aerodynamic performance:
a. Must comply with the rules relating to bodywork.
b. Must be rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car (rigidly secured means not having any degree of freedom).
With the exception of the driver adjustable bodywork described in Article 3.6.8 (in addition to minimal parts solely associated with its actuation) and the parts described in Articles 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6, any specific part of the car influencing its aerodynamic performance must remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car.
Note: 3.6.8 covers DRS; 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6 cover brake ducts.
This regulation has underpinned the first key interpretation that has been floating around, namely that the rear wing is clearly moving, this is illegal, and so the car is illegal. The issue with this is physics: when put under physical load there are two things bodywork can do – flex or shatter. A zero-tolerance approach to 3.8 would make racing impossible.
The FIA understands that not allowing any flex would be counterproductive and so the regulations follow with section 3.9, governing bodywork flexibility. Regulations 3.9.1-8 state the acceptable flexibility of bodywork under specific loads and details on how those loads will be tested, with 3.9.6 covering the upper edge of the rear wing.
3.9.6 The uppermost aerofoil element lying behind the rear wheel centre line may deflect no more than 7mm horizontally when a 500N load is applied horizontally. The load will be applied 870mm above the reference plane at three separate points which lie on the car centre plane and 270mm either side of it. The loads will be applied in a rearward direction using a suitable 25mm wide adapter which must be supplied by the relevant team.
This regulation is the basis for the second key interpretation I’ve seen frequently over the last few days: the tests are the rule, if the car passes the tests it’s legal, regardless of how the car performs outside of the tests. Changing the tests mid-season constitutes a change in the rules, which is unfair as teams use the rules as their guide to building the car. If the regulations stopped here I would tend to agree.
However, the regulations do not stop here.
3.9.9 In order to ensure that the requirements of Article 3.8 are respected, the FIA reserves the right to introduce further load/deflection tests on any part of the bodywork which appears to be (or is suspected of), moving whilst the car is in motion.
This regulation gives the FIA the right to introduce new tests, apparently at any point, if it suspects that bodywork is moving outside the tests. I interpret this as stating that the intention of the flexibility tests is to allow incidental flex under load while ensuring that the flex does not confer an aerodynamic advantage. 3.9.9 exists specifically to allow the FIA to adjust its testing regime if it believes a car is able to gain an aerodynamic advantage from movement that is more than incidental.
What does this mean?
Firstly, it is clearly perfectly within the rules for the FIA to introduce new tests mid-season so long as it has good reason to suspect that the spirit of regulation 3.8 is not being followed. Secondly, any car that fails updated tests is clearly illegal per the current rules.
What is less clear is when that illegality starts. Is it only prospective from the time a car fails new tests, or is it retrospective? Could Red Bull’s car in Spain be deemed illegal, and disqualified, if it fails tests only introduced after that race?
The rules are open to interpretation here. There is a coherent arguments that the tests are the rule and a car can only be illegal once it fails an updated test. There is also a coherent counter-argument that the tests are merely an enforcement tool; a car that intentionally found a way to pass the tests but gain an aerodynamic advantage outside the scope of regulation 3.8 is illegal as far back as it can be proven that it was enjoying that advantage.
My view is that this ambiguity is intentional. It gives the FIA leeway to consider the severity of a breach and react accordingly. If a team is proven to have enjoyed a dominant advantage by intentionally circumventing the tests, the FIA has the option of retrospectively applying a punishment to negate that advantage. If a team is found to only have an incidental advantage, the FIA can be more measured and apply punishments only prospectively, allowing teams time to adjust their cars before that occurs.
The current situation is closer to the latter. There is flexing occurring which may be outside the spirit of the regulations, but any advantage gained is clearly not so dominant that teams with more flexing are performing significantly better than those with less flex. While the rules would seem to allow the FIA to implement new tests immediately, they have taken a more moderate approach here which appears specifically designed to give the teams time to adjust the cars as needed. This includes giving early notice of the new tests and introducing additional tolerances in the first rounds of the updated testing.
Nothing the FIA has done so far prevents them from eventually taking retrospective action, but it directionally appears as if they are treating this prospectively for now.
Final Thoughts
It is clear from the regulations that the FIA is operating within its rights as written. Moving away from the regulations into the realm of opinion, there is a question of whether it is fair that the FIA should have the right to introduce new tests mid-season at all.
My opinion is this: The FIA is fully aware of the cat-and-mouse game it plays with the teams and knows teams will push the regulations to the breaking point. The FIA needs the tools to be able to counter unfair advantages gained by teams or to deem those advantages legal and allow other teams to catch up. The ability to introduce new tests mid-season is an important part of that toolkit, but it must be used judiciously. So far the FIA does appear to be doing so.
Sources & Links
Technical Regulations
Relevant threads from the last few days:
https://www.reddit.com/r/...ex_comparison_with_other/
https://www.reddit.com/r/...ao96l/bendy_vs_not_bendy/
https://www.reddit.com/r/...ull_vs_mercedes_on_board/
Edit: fixed a link
Edit 2: thanks for the featured tag and award, mods!