Ferrari to Develop Flexible Wing Concept in 2011

Buoyed by their lack of speed this season, Ferrari seem determined to try just about everything to solve this problem as soon as possible. And as this type of problem requires multiple solutions, one of them would be to try and copy Red Bull's “flexible” front wing concept.

Ever since last year, Red Bull were pointed at for designing a front wing that bent towards the track, creating more downforce and therefore adding to the car's speed. And although the FIA had strengthened the flexibility tests for the front wing as soon as the 2010 Italian Grand Prix – practically doubling the weighs applied to both ends of the wing – footage and videos from this year's race have shown that the Austrian team has somehow managed to find a loophole in the technical regulations.

What that means is Red Bull have managed to get their car past the FIA flexibility tests but still profit from a “bending” front wing in the race. And since many believe this is where Red Bull's speed secret lies, Ferrari would very much want a piece of the pie themselves.

“We are going deeper in the evaluation of front wings and we will do a flexible front wing soon,” admitted recently Ferrari's technical director Aldo Costa.

Mercedes GP's Ross Brawn, who currently heads the Formula One Teams Association's (FOTA) technical department, admitted that Red Bull's concept might be copied by rival teams in the future, but hinted that other solutions could be found to create a competitive package (see McLaren Mercedes).

“Red Bull have demonstrated that you can take an approach that is perfectly legal and gain advantage from it,” said Brawn. “They pass the test and those are the tests that decree whether the car is legal or not. But we see quite honestly there is another car out there that is not using that approach that is quite competitive as well, so it is not the only solution.”