05/29/2021 7:00 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 05/29/2021 7:00 AM
The hegemony that
Mercedes has
embodied in Formula 1 in the last seven years, and which included 14 titles between drivers and manufacturers, is
in danger
in a season that has just begun and that has Max Verstappen and Red Bull in front of the classifier.
Monaco was the key that opened the fight
.
The fifth Grand Prix of the season was in the hands of the Dutchman, while Lewis Hamilton closed a bad weekend with seventh place.
To this was added that the other drivers of the teams had very different results: Checo Pérez gave the Austrian team 12 points for their fourth place, while Valtteri Bottas
had to leave
when they could not change their right front tire at the pit stop.
“We love battle.
It's just
what the doctor recommended to me after the last seven years,
”said Toto Wolff, the champion team boss, of this close contest for first place.
However, despite that statement, he started
a fierce fight
over the
flexible rear wings
used by his top contender for the title and which may be key in Baku, the venue for the next race.
The dispute was made public by Hamilton during the Spanish GP, stating that "the Red Bulls are very fast on the straight" and that the flexible wing
they had put in practice on Friday
"in the back of their car" had them allowed to gain "at least three tenths" by increasing top speed with that aerodynamic element.
Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.
Photo REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes
While teams have to comply with strict flex tests to make sure their wings are strong enough and won't bend too much, the FIA has put a deadline on the rear wings:
on June 20 they will be banned
for all teams. And that's why Red Bull is already working on new aerodynamic improvements.
However, next week they will be able to get a lot out of them.
In Baku is
the longest straight
of the F1 circuits, where the
highest speeds
are recorded
, close to 350 km / h.
For this reason, the fight for the rear wings intensified and the support of Mercedes came McLaren and Aston Martin.
"We are talking about this matter with the FIA at the moment. We are not happy at all that there are cars that, from our point of view,
are clearly outside the regulations
,
and after it was found that they are not within the regulations they can keep racing,
"said McLaren team boss
Andreas Seidl.
Aston Martin CEO
Otmar Szafnauer
added: "My opinion is the same as Mercedes'. Designing something that flexes just the right amount and passes tests requires a lot of effort, but designing something that is rigid requires no effort. and it can be done very, very quickly. "
Of course last year, like
Racing Point
, the team was sanctioned with 15 points and a financial fine for using an identical brake aerator to the Mercedes and they chose not to make new ones when the FIA allowed them to race with that illegal part.
Do what I say but not what I do.
In dialogue with
Sky Sports
in the street of Monte Carlo, Wolff reinforced his position and slipped that they could present a protest at the Azerbaijan GP: "
The FIA must clear things up before Baku. If not, it will be chaos
. McLaren and Aston Martin. they are on the same line as us. "
The Red Bull of Max Verstappen, current leader of the Formula 1 world championship. Photo Hasan Bratic / DPA
"We have analyzed the wings and we believe that the Mercedes one complies with the technical regulations. But the Red Bull one does not," he added, "because its rear wing flexes more than it should. According to the regulations, it has been classified as non-compliant,
But we are in a loophole as
far as Baku. So that's what it is. But we're pretty sure of our legal position, we're standing firm; it's an advantage for them. "
Faced with the chance that Red Bull would respond to the accusation by pointing
to Mercedes' flexible front wing
, the Austrian was confident.
"We have analyzed the front wings and it bends exactly the same as Red Bull, so we could also protest against them," Wolff reinforced.
Here is Mercedes' flexi front wing in action a few weeks ago in Portugal.
If Mercedes bring a formal complaint to the stewards for Red Bull's rear wing, the team from Milton Keynes will be ready to defend themselves and reply
Below you can find the RB16B's front wing # F1 https://t.co/RDf6QpStpL pic.twitter .com / 2rUopSJN7i
- hotlapmode (@hotlapmode) May 25, 2021
His statements found a response in the Austrian team, more precisely in his advisor
Helmut Marko
.
“Mercedes would have to protest against eight cars.
In addition to us, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Alpine are also affected.
Do they really want to do that and cause a big fuss?
I don't think so, "he threatened on the German TV channel
Sport 1.
"
We are going to change our wing to pass the new tests
as required by the FIA. But that is not possible for Baku. We cannot do it in time because we have to adjust the entire rear. It is not so easy to build a new wing. It is It is part of Formula 1 for teams to watch closely when their rival has something special in the car. We did the same when Mercedes came up last year with the innovative DAS system.
The FIA declared the system not legal, but they were allowed use it
until the last race.
We have accepted it. Why does Mercedes not accept it now
in the same way with our rear wing? ", he emphasized.
Finally he pointed to the aerodynamic improvement of the W12 that was exposed in a video that shows
how its front wing flexes more
on the straights than Red Bull's: “We hope that the new tests of the front wings will be more strict, especially the front wing of the Toto Wolff team is the one that moves the most.
In any case, there is also the possibility of protesting ”.
This Friday the activity began in the Azerbaijan street circuit, where Verstappen will start with four points of advantage over Hamilton and Red Bull with just one point over Mercedes.
The cards are exposed although an ace up the sleeve is not discarded.
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