Mercedes front wing under the scanner as Red Bull questions legality: Reports

Mercedes are allegedly in trouble as Red Bull are suspicious about the Silver Arrows' W15. According to multiple sources, the engineers from the Milton-Keynes-based team are monitoring the W15's front wing and its legality.

After Toto Wolff's team's meteoric rise in the last few race weekends, engineers and experts from every team are looking closely at their development. Red Bull, in particular, is having great suspicion. However, it's common for teams to look closely at their rivals' development path and ask for clarification.

Given the fight for supremacy has intensified in the last few races, with Ferrari and McLaren joining the bandwagon, Christian Horner's team isn't willing to sit idle and not challenge the Brackley-based team. Mercedes brought an upgraded front wing in Monaco, then was brought to Canada, significantly improving their performance.

According to reports, an unofficial report was submitted to the FIA asking the governing body to examine the W15's front wing. Although the Mercedes challenger's front wing was initially approved by FIA's static check, the issue lies elsewhere.

Teams, including the Silver Arrows, can flex their wing during the race considering the payload. This, at times, goes beyond the permissible limit by the FIA, as the wings flex more compared to their initial specification. This gives the cars an additional impetus, which the rivals are now trying to figure out. If proven, Wolff's team might face penalties as well as sanctions.

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The FIA has a strong stance in technical developments to prevent a Mercedes-like situation

F1 Grand Prix of Canada MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 09: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W15 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 09, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The FIA always takes a strong stance regarding every technical loophole teams find out. F1 teams spend enormous money to bypass the FIA checks to stay within the permissible limit and develop their cars.

To stop this, the FIA brought in regular tweaks in the technical regulations as an intervention in the last two years. Most recently, in October 2023, the governing body implemented Technical Directive 18 to reduce the use of carcasses, an overly flexible composite on the front wing.

Citing the implementation, Nikolas Tombazis, Single-seater director of the FIA, said, "Observing the teams, we saw how they manage to create relative movements in the area of the nose attachment and in the external part near the lateral fins."

“The teams invest a lot of resources to create surfaces that resist our load tests, but that appear to be made of elastic material on the track," Tombazis further added. All in all, it will be interesting to see if Mercedes can see themselves out of potential trouble," he added.