The impact of the new stress tests for the rear wings in Formula 1: FIA Head of Single-Seater Racing Nikolas Tombazis draws an initial conclusion in Shanghai
After the 2025 Formula 1 season opener in Australia, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) introduced new stress tests for the rear wings of the vehicles at short notice. But did this tightening also have the desired effect?
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single-seater racing, said after the second race weekend of the year in Shanghai: “I am hopeful that this time it will be enough.”
Some teams were already competing in Australia in full compliance with the rules. “I think it was four or five that weren’t, and they had to make changes [for China].” Tombazis does not provide any specific details, but at least Alpine has already publicly stated that it had to modify its rear wings.
But what about McLaren? The current top team in Formula One was already suspected of taking flexible wings too far in 2024, and McLaren is again the subject of speculation in the 2025 season. However, the team has not been proven to have violated the rules. “I don’t want to talk about individual teams either,” says Tombazis.
He and the world governing body are only concerned with monitoring general compliance with the new rules of the game. “That’s why we continue to use cameras – simply to be sure,” explains Tombazis. “But ‘sure’ is actually a word I want to avoid, because it’s a rather complex phenomenon that produces this effect.” Tracking is also correspondingly difficult.
How the teams cooperate with the FIA
The FIA relies on the cooperation of the teams here, says Tombazis. For example, the world governing body can demand access to design plans. “Sometimes at least we take a look at them, but not always. Sometimes we also ask the teams to show us how they laminated the wing and what they did,” he explains.
But that’s the exception. ”Basically, we mainly use the results of the load tests and combine that with the camera data. This is how we ensure that we don’t miss any tricks.”
Tombazis emphasizes: “Camera images alone would only lead to us involving the stewards. They serve more to start a more detailed investigation in which we might discover that a team is using non-linear properties or a mechanism. Then we would have a reason to report it.”
Possible further steps
Will this change in the future as camera technology improves? Tombazis fears that it would be too much effort: “It would take a lot of work to analyze all the camera data in time, process all the signals, and so on. We don’t have 50 people working on it either. But that doesn’t mean that the option is off the table for the future. It’s not a bad idea, it’s just a lot of work.”
Either way, the FIA will keep an eye on Formula One’s rear wings. And if there is any further suspicion, “then we could reduce the limits further,” says Tombazis. “We could also start to examine the DRS mechanisms in even more detail and monitor exactly how they are set.”
“But as I said, at the moment we are reasonably satisfied. This should not be seen as arrogance. The teams are of course still trying to get the maximum out of the situation, and we must remain vigilant.”
Just like at the end of last year, when the issue first came to light. “Based on the overall situation, we decided to take action this year,” explains Tombazis. The world governing body wanted to prevent “a long game with press comments, photos and complaints”.
How honest are the Formula One teams?
But how honestly have the teams made the necessary changes? Can the FIA really rule out the possibility that the racing teams have not turned into the grey areas of the regulations through the new stress tests?
Tombazis smiles and says: “The teams always play this game. They are not there for charitable reasons. They will always try to get the maximum advantage.”
“Our position is: a car that passes the FIA tests is basically legal – unless there are hidden mechanisms or things that rely on non-linear properties, temperatures or the like. In such cases, we intervene.”
“As a matter of principle, we would never report a team to the stewards if it had passed the tests. But specifically with regard to this issue – and for precisely these reasons – the rules give us the right to carry out additional rigidity tests.”
