Red Bull, Ferrari Question Legality of McLaren's Rear Wing

Last year, it was Brawn GP's double decker rear diffuser that caused the teams to question the legality of their single-seater prior to the start of the season, this year it's another British team that steps into controversy with one of their car parts, namely McLaren Mercedes.

According to British newspaper The Telegraph, both Red Bull Racing and Ferrari are challenging the legality of MP5-25's rear wing, which currently contains a slot that is designed to reduce drag and add 10kph to the car's speed on straights. According to Red Bull's Christian Horner, no other team in the 2010 roster proceeded to use such a device.

“There's a bit of a fuss over McLaren's rear wing. They have a slot on it and they can pick up a lot of straight-line speed. I think it will get resolved before the first race. We've asked the FIA for clarification although I think Ferrari are probably more excited than we are to be honest,” said the Red Bull boss.

“Basically, if you stall the wing you take all the drag off it and pick up straight-line speed. It's something that's been done quite a lot over the years but with the wing separators you're not supposed to do that. Our question ultimately will be: is it clever design or is it in breach of the regulations?”

However, when asked by the British reporters to share his opinion on the device, Horner admitted the device will probably be ruled as legal (therefore picked up by the majority of the teams in due time, we might add).

“They must be very confident that it's legal. I would think it will be legal,” said Horner.