Aston Martin: 'Teams with flexible wing can lose half a second'

Since the Spanish Grand Prix, all eyes in the F1 paddock are on Red Bull Racing's rear wings. According to Mercedes, these wings would bend too much and they have reported this to the FIA. This could potentially be a big problem for the title aspirations of Max Verstappen.

In France we will know more

The FIA will introduce a new, stricter test for the French GP. Those who think this is just a detail are wrong. If Red Bull (and a number of other teams) have to modify the rear wing to reduce its deflection, the loss of time could be unbridgeable.

"I think for 'low rake' cars it makes an average difference of a couple of tenths per lap approximately. However, there are tracks where you don't benefit at all, while elsewhere it might be half a second," Otmar Szafnauer, Aston Martin team principal, explained to Motorsport.com.

For Red Bull Racing and others, however, the damage could be even worse. Because they use the 'high rake' concept, the rear wing is in a position where it naturally produces more downforce and so the effect of a deflected rear wing is also greater.