Article 3.17: when and why?

[sepp]

Hello,

does anyone know exactly when article 3.17 of the FIA technical regulations concerning the bodywork flexibility was introduced, and for which reason? Was it in order to reduce performance, or to increase the safety from structural failure? I am mostly interested in the parts concerning the flexibility of the rear wing (3.17.5-6).

I have been searching FIA's homepage, and I would like to find some kind of a press release regarding this article, but I was unable to find it. Neither did I find information on this article here in the database.

Thanks!

[Ciro Pabón]

Sepp, this is what you can find in the technical articles at this site:

Article 3.17 has been introduced during 1998, after teams started experimenting with bending front and rear wings. When Ferrari introduced such a front wing at the end of 1997, it was produced in such a way that the wing would flex under aerodynamic loads. This means that as the speed increased, a force was produced that pushed the wing towards the ground. By means of a ground effect, this was particularly interesting for front wings because if would increase downforce at high speeds without an increase of drag. As rear wings began to fail and flew off during races, the FIA thought it was time to act and added 3.17 to the technical regulations of Formula One.

http://www.f1technical.net/articles/8