Alonso Tells Teams Not to Copy Ferrari Rear Wing

Ferrari didn’t seem too concerned with the FIA banning their brand new rear wing design ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday, as plenty of voices from within the Maranello organization have downplayed the importance of that particular element in the Scuderia’s development scheme this season.

After Ferrari’s Aldo Costa insisted that, while confident that the rear wing was legal despite the FIA’s objections (that it was 3cm higher than normal due to a loophole about gurney flaps and slot-gap separators), the ban will not have a great effect on the car’s performance this weekend, Fernando Alonso issued a similar claim a few minutes after the Saturday quali.

“The wing was one of the new parts we introduced here but the FIA decided that we couldn't use it,” he apparently told Spanish newspaper AS. “It gave us a small improvement, maybe a tenth or a tenth and a half, so it is not something dramatic.”

He also piggybacked on Costa’s earlier comments, saying that rules are interpreted in different ways by the FIA officials and the F1 teams. However, sensing that Ferrari’s rivals may have learnt something from the Scuderia’s latest development, he warned the teams not to copy that particular design in the future.

“There is nothing more to say; in F1 the rules are interpreted to the limit and sometimes you are allowed and sometimes you are not. The important thing is that no one comes to Monaco with something similar and they are allowed to use it.”

Despite the rear wing ban, Ferrari’s Alonso scored his best qualifying performance of the season, ranking 4th after what he recalls as being his best ever lap in a Ferrari car, while Felipe Massa had to settle for 8th overall.