Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is expecting this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix to “be interesting”, as a new FIA Technical Directive (TD) will come into effect.
Starting from Friday, the governing body will be stricter when it comes to flexi-wings, something which have been seen this season but are actually not allowed.
Several teams have worked around the rulebook to make their wings flexible, with Aston Martin being one side who clearly had flexi-wings in the opening rounds.
Some have put their recent step backwards down to reducing the amount their wings flex, to ensure that they are following the sport’s rulebook.
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Given that some teams will be forced to make changes to their wings, the pecking order could change at the Marina Bay Circuit, something Wolff is interested to discover.
“It will be interesting,” said Wolff.
“At Aston Martin you can already see that they have taken a step back now that their wing moves less, but I don’t know the details. Let’s wait and see.
“I don’t know who will benefit more than others, but who knows. Maybe Red Bull will suddenly be half a second slower. That would be nice, but I don’t think that will be the case.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been quick to note that the Austrians won’t be impacted by the TD, with Williams having made a similar prediction.
Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson has stated that he doesn’t expect the Grove-based team to “be affected”, but that they might “have to adjust the floors a bit”.
“I honestly don’t know what will change in the rankings,” Robson said. “But I don’t think we will be affected.
“We may have to adjust our floors a bit, but we are good in terms of wings. So hopefully it will slow some people down, which would be good for us.”
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The FIA getting involved to sort the matter has seemingly been praised by the paddock, with McLaren boss Andrea Stella believing that it’s “good news” the governing body are putting a stop to those breaking the rules.
He expects that this will work in the Woking-based team’s favour.
“If the FIA felt it was needed, it means there is something to clamp down and for us I think it’s good news,” Stella said.