The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has already strengthened its flexibility tests for the front wing last year – which included doubling the weighs applied to both ends of the wing – and the one fitted on the RB7 this year has passed every single one of them.
However, video data and footage during the first 2 races of the new season have shown that the RB7 wing's endplates bend significantly towards the track, therefore improving downforce. The fact that the reigning world champions have managed to find a loophole in the technical regulations is pretty obvious, but now everyone is struggling to find out their secret and copy it as soon as possible.
For those of them who are still whining about Red Bull's design and its illegality, Brawn has a clear message: they can either copy it or move on with their current development strategy, as the system's legality is unquestionable under the current FIA regulations.
“It's a question of degrees, so the FIA has a series of tests to measure the degree to which bodywork moves - and as long as you pass those tests, then your car is to all intents and purposes legal,” said Brawn in a recent interview with crash.net.
“Those tests can change - in fact they changed over the winter because, as they do in a lot of areas, the FIA try and improve them. There's a new test this year. Red Bull obviously pass it, so that's all there is to say about it.”
“They've got a philosophy of their car and approach, and teams have got to decide if that's the reason - or one of the reasons - for their level of performance. If it is, then you need to consider going that route yourself, or make sure it's not an excuse for the fact they're winning everything at the moment.”
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