McLaren having trouble understanding flex wing

As one of the top three teams on the grid, McLaren are keen to introduce their own flexible front wings in order to stay close to Red Bull and Ferrari. Although it sounds easier than it really is, since the Woking bases squad is perplexed by how those teams are able to design wings that flex under high loads but are still able to pass the FIA mandated flex and load tests.

"I've seen a lot of pictures on that situation," said McLaren's Engineering Director Paddy Lowe. "We believe, and we're not alone, that two cars - Ferrari and Red Bull - have wings existing at a much lower position than we're able to deliver. It is a phenomenon we're seeing. It may be entirely legitimate, it may not be. We don't understand it."

"It is a difference to a reasonably large degree, so it's difficult to explain by relatively subtle effects like fuel weight, tyre pressure, or high-speed set-up. These things affect a car to a relatively small degree - much smaller than the degree we've seen in pictures.

While admitting his team is working on it back in England, "At the minute we are working really hard to understand it, and if it is worth performance to us, to deliver that."