Wing flex debate takes a new twist

01/09/2010
NEWS STORY

The debate over the front wing on the RB6 has taken a new twist as on-board video suggests this could have contributed to Sebastian Vettel's collision with Jenson Button in the Belgian Grand Prix.

TV close ups in some of the previous race have made it quite clear what rival teams have been unhappy about, with the front wing on the Red Bull - and to a lesser extent on the Ferrari - dipping at high speed.

Following complaints from rival teams the FIA modified the load test at Spa ahead of an even more stringent test at Monza.

In the wake of Sunday's race, McLaren's Jenson Button suggested that the new test had meant that Red Bull had had to modify the wings which had in turn affected the car's pace.

This has been denied by Christian Horner who suggests that McLaren might have a flexing issue of its own. "I can categorically tell you that they are the same wings that ran in Hungary a month ago," he said, according to the Daily Telegraph. "Whether that is the same for our competitors I can't say but I would be very interested to know - and you might find it was a silver wing that was most flexible this weekend."

Meanwhile, there is growing interest in a video clip (available in the UK only) which clearly shows the front wings twisting on both sides of Vettel's car as he closed in on Button at Bus Stop on Sunday.

This, in turn, is leading to suggestions that the current wing and its predecessor are extremely unstable when pulling out from behind another car with claims that this could have contributed to Webber's accidents in Australia and Valencia, and Vettel's in Turkey and Belgium.

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Published: 01/09/2010
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