Flexi-wings of deception: FIA spy cameras set to unmask cheats

F1’s technical tussles appear to be back, with Red Bull casting a suspicious eye at McLaren and Ferrari, convinced they’re still flexing their way around the FIA rules with sly rear-wing wizardry.

Ahead of the sport’s season-opener next week in Australia, the FIA, visibly fed up with competitors’ aerodynamic antics, has slapped the latter with an updated technical directive – TD034 – mandating that teams provide housings on their 2025 designs for rearward-facing cameras.

The move signals a significant shift in focus, as last year's monitoring primarily targeted front wings. This year, the spotlight is firmly on the rear, aiming to capture any excessive flexing that could provide an unfair advantage.

Red Bull’s Radar and the FIA’s Response

The plot thickened during pre-season testing’s final day, when Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Wache, pointed an accusatory finger at McLaren and Ferrari, and specifically at their car’s rear wings.

Wache is also convinced that the horseplay will be a major talking point in Melbourne next week: “It will be,” he said, “it is quite visible.”

He was apparently not alone, with an unnamed team principal whispering allegation to The Race.

“Looking at the videos we have seen, some of the rear wings out there appear to be quite flexible. It is something we are keeping a very close eye on.”

The FIA’s had enough. After 2024’s wing-flexing circus, they’re cracking down.

“Following further analysis carried out by the FIA Single Seater Department after the conclusion of the 2024 season, we are committed to ensure that bodywork flexibility is no longer a point of contention for the 2025 season,” the governing body declared.

Their weapon? An updated TD034, confirmed by a source to website PlanetF1.com: “A TD has gone out asking we provide housings for FIA cameras to view rear wings. Nothing more.”

From Melbourne, rearward-facing cameras will play detective, paired with tougher beam wing deflection tests. Front wings get their own scrutiny at Spain’s round nine, but for now, it’s the rear that’s raising eyebrows.

The Ghost of Baku: McLaren’s Mini-DRS Legacy

The whole story isn’t a new heist – it’s a sequel. Last year, flexi-wings stole the spotlight, first with front-wing flap and then with McLaren’s Baku blockbuster.

During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri fended off Charles Leclerc, and F1 TV cameras caught the MCL38’s rear wing warping at speed – shedding drag like a magician’s cape for a straight-line boost.

Dubbed the ‘mini-DRS,’ it sparked a furor. McLaren tweaked their low-downforce design post-FIA chat, but the trick’s echo lingers.

The FIA tightened the slot gap rules for 2025—now 9.4-13mm, with a max 85mm DRS opening—to kill such shenanigans. Yet Waché’s not buying it: he smells flexi-foul play brewing.

A Game of Trust and Tech

Why the obsession? Flexible wings are F1’s dark art – bending just enough to dodge drag, then snapping back to pass scrutineering.

It’s legal until it’s not, and Red Bull’s convinced their rivals are toeing that line too boldly. The FIA’s camera gambit – used on front wings in 2024’s Belgian Grand Prix – now pivots rearward, aiming to catch culprits mid-flex.

“As part of this effort, we will be increasing the scope of rear wing tests from the start of the 2025 season,” the FIA vowed.

But with Waché’s ominous “quite visible” jab, the paddock’s whispering: are McLaren and Ferrari still outsmarting the rulebook?

As Melbourne looms, F1’s flexi-wing thriller is a cocktail of suspicion, science, and speed. Red Bull’s playing sleuth, the FIA’s rigging surveillance, and the stopwatch waits to spill the truth.

Who’s bending the rules – and the wings? The cameras will tell.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook