Flexi-wings may have been key factor in 2024 F1 teams' title battle - Vasseur

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has claimed the appearance of flexi-wings and the FIA's decision not to take a more hardline approach towards them played a crucial factor in 2024's Formula 1 constructors' championship.

The Scuderia was one of two teams, along with Red Bull, who sought clarification from F1's governing body over the apparent use of flexing front wings by McLaren and Mercedes.

The FIA introduced cameras for the Belgian Grand Prix to monitor the wings, but declared that it was happy with the designs. It later stated that it would not make any changes to the current front wing tests.

When asked if flexing wings had been a defining factor in the championship, Vasseur replied: "I think so" and explained his frustration that Ferrari could not necessarily capitalise immediately owing to the decision time and the influence of the cost cap.

"I'm a bit frustrated with this, because it's clear performance, and we wait two months for the decision if it's legal or not," Vasseur explained. 

"And with the cost cap, you have always to keep in mind the cost cap. It means that you have to be efficient with the budget. 

"It means that if you start to do a development and at the end, it's a no-go, you burn €600,000. We had the discussion with the story of Red Bull two years ago, is that it's not because you are burning half a million, that is half a million out of 150 million. 

McLaren MCL38 rear wing detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

"It's half a million out of three or four millions of development, because you have your guys, you have the racing costs, you have this, this and this and at the end, you have the development, and you have X millions of development.

"But it's a small X, and if you burn for nothing half a million, you can't spend somewhere else. And for sure, that's when, for me, it was more than on the edge the story."

Vasseur says that the performance gain of a flexing wing, even if small, would translate to a large jump in position given the closeness of the 2024 field - citing Monza's slender margins as an example.

Asked if Ferrari's lateness to implementing its own flexing wing - believed to be part of its Singapore upgrade package - was a bigger hit to its title chances than its misfiring Spain upgrade, Vasseur replied that the two circumstances were not particularly equitable.

"It is true that the more the competition will be tight, the more we will look after details. I'm not sure that when you had six-tenths between the cars that we are paying so much attention to details.

"But when you had races like Monza, you had four or five cars within a tenth, if you have a flexi-wing and whatever, for sure, it's making a huge difference. 

"I think it's more the consequence of the fact that perhaps the fact that we have a tough regulation and it's not easy to develop, but also that the championship is getting more and more tighter.  

"I don't know [if not having a flexi-wing cost more than the floor] because you can't redo the season. And it's not the same approach. 

"One is something that we knew, and we are a bit on the back foot to decide to go for it. The other one is a development, and that we didn't expect to have this problem. With the wing it's just a mathematical approach."