Red Bull chief publicly accuses Hamilton and Norris’ cars of ‘pushing the legal limits’
Helmut Marko has placed two of Red Bull's biggest rivals under the microscope ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has explained that while the front wing designs used by Mercedes and McLaren are ‘not illegal’, they are ‘pushing the limits’ of the current regulations. The two British constructors were the reigning champions’ closest challengers at the Canadian Grand Prix last time out.
Heading into the race in Barcelona, there has been plenty of debate surrounding the legality of some of the front-running cars. Mercedes have attracted particular attention with their new front-wing design, which allows the component to gain greater flexibility and deliver stronger balance.
It isn’t just Mercedes under the microscope. After the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc noted: “We lost everything in the straights and they are doing something weird with the energy engine-wise, McLaren and Red Bull.”
Speaking to Kleine Zeitung about the designs of their rivals, Marko admitted: "Mercedes has definitely made progress, especially in terms of top speed, as has McLaren. You can only achieve this top speed if the wings are aerodynamically deformed.
“It seems that Mercedes and McLaren have a front wing that complies with the regulations because it passed the technical inspection. But at race speed, it deforms considerably more than the regulations require.” He later added: “It's certainly not illegal, it's just pushing the limits. It's an eternal competition between the teams and the FIA."
Despite the concerns of Marko, the FIA is not planning to step in and investigate the front wings of the Mercedes and McLaren cars, according to a report from Motorsport.com, the sport’s governing body is ‘comfortable’ with the nature of the designs and do not believe there is a breach of the sporting regulations.
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When quizzed about the flexi-wings, Toto Wolff admitted to the ‘boundary-pushing’ that Marko had previously hinted at. "Front wings play a big role today, it's clear," he explained. "Aero elasticity plays a big role, but so do the floors. I think it's always the combination of these.
"You can have a front wing that flexes like a banana and passes the test, but the rest of the car just doesn't work properly in the interaction. I think everybody is trying to push the boundaries and within the regulations.
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"I think what we've been able to do over the last three races is particularly on the right side, where we believe that we've made a big step and all of the aero bits that came since then. Maybe we've just been very much on the other end of where we should have been on wings and floors and all of that."