The 2025 Formula 1 season got off to a chaotic start last weekend, as Lando Norris survived wet conditions and a late charge from Max Verstappen to win the Australian Grand Prix.
F1 implements stricter testing to address a flashpoint from the 2024 season
Flexible wings were a major talking point during the 2024 season, and F1’s governing body is implementing new tests in response
Photo by Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
But as the grid heads to Shanghai for next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, there is a new directive from the sport’s governing body regarding rear wing deflection tests, often termed the “mini-DRS,” that teams must comply with starting next weekend.
According to the FIA, footage from the Australian Grand Prix indicated that “sufficient grounds exist for a tougher test to be introduced from the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix on the upper rear wing.”
Ahead of the 2025 season, the FIA introduced new load-deflection tests for the front wing, the upper rear wing, and the beam rear wing, to monitor how those components flexed under aerodynamic load. Specifically, the FIA wanted to ensure that gaps in those wings were not created under aerodynamic load, a condition termed a “mini-DRS.” With flexible wings moving under aerodynamic load, gaps resulted in those components that could reduce drag and allow for higher speeds.
In a statement on Monday the FIA set forth that “Article 3.15.17, introduced in 2025, states that if 75Kg of vertical load is applied on either extremity of the rear wing mainplane, the distance between the mainplane and the flap (also known as “slot gap”) must not vary by more than 2mm. From the forthcoming Grand Prix in Shanghai, this limit will be reduced to 0.5mm. Due to the short notice for Shanghai only a tolerance of 0.25mm will be added to this new limit.”
The FIA also made it clear that all of the teams were in compliance at the Australian Grand Prix. “The FIA wishes to further confirm that during the Melbourne event all cars tested against the requirements of Article 3.15.17 and found to comply, therefore all cars raced in Melbourne were deemed to be legal.”
The “mini-DRS” was a flashpoint during the 2024 F1 season, as McLaren introduced a new rear wing for their low-downforce rear wing, starting with the Belgian Grand Prix. Ahead of that race weekend, McLaren identified a new rear wing for that race, listing the new component as a “circuit-specific” change.
As outlined in the team’s Car Presentation Submission to the FIA — available here at Document 9 — the new rear wing was introduced for this reason: “[i]n anticipation of high isochronal circuits, a less loaded Rear Wing assembly is introduced for this event, with the aim of reducing drag efficiently.”
The FIA eventually stepped in and in the wake of the Singapore Grand Prix, the governing body issued a new directive that the maximum gap in rear wings could not flex under vertical, aerodynamic load by more than 2 mm.
The FIA issued new Technical Regulations ahead of the 2025 season regarding flexible wings, noting that increased testing would be put in place throughout the year, including the use of camera footage to make sure teams complied.
Now, based on the first race weekend of the year, the sport’s governing body is taking further steps to address the issue.
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