At last season’s Mexican Grand Prix, Mercedes turned up with an interesting prototype front wing, which never actually made it onto the car due to concerns that the FIA would find their invention illegal.
The front wing featured a large number of slot gap separators, which main purpose is to keep the gap between the sections of the front wing the same.
It was believed that Mercedes were not using these separators for their intended purpose and were instead using them to redirect airflow, something which was highlighted by their rivals.
Ferrari arrived to pre-season testing with a very similar looking front wing this season, with multiple slot gap separators spotted by fans.
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The FIA have changed the regulations surrounding these separators heading into this season, telling teams that they are allowed on the wing as long as they make a genuine structural connection and are not disconnected and clearly there for an alternate motive.
Many of Ferrari’s rivals have questioned the legality of their wing but new team principal Fred Vasseur has claimed that the FIA see no issues with their design following the rewriting of the regulations.
“When we launched the car with this kind of parts, we were sure to have a discussion with the FIA,” said the Frenchman.
“For them, it was crystal clear that it was okay. The emotion of the other teams, I don’t care.
“It’s the game of F1, each year at test one you have this story about a winglet or the one [car part]. In one week’s time, we will talk about something else.”
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Ferrari’s design does fall in line with the regulations, as their winglets and separators make a structural connection, making the intended purpose of them irrelevant.
The Scuderia have proved that they have once again created a quick car this season but will need to improve their reliability from last season if they want to have a shot at the championship.
The SF-23 looked reliable during pre-season testing, but the true reliability of the car will not be known until it is put in a race scenario, surrounded by the dirty air of other cars.