"Slightly frustrated" Vasseur reveals how much McLaren could have gained with their "mini" DRS

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur claims that McLaren might have gained the crucial last drops of performance with their aggressively-designed rear wing configuration in the extremely close fight in Monza and Baku.

Front and rear wings have been under the spotlight so far this season. The front wings caused controversy earlier this year, with some teams apparently having taken the aerodynamic elasticity to the extremes.

Among the top teams, Mercedes and McLaren appeared to lead the front in terms of flexibility with forward-facing onboard camara showing clear signs of flexibility of the two teams' front wings in several races.

The governing body launched an investigation into the matter, using extra camera recordings to find out whether it needs to intervene to potentially stop teams from using an even more aggressive approach. However, after the Italian Grand Prix, the FIA confirmed that all teams comply with the front wing regulations and stressed that all designs passed the deflection tests.

However, the controversy around the flexibility took a fresh twist at last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. McLaren's Oscar Piastri won the Baku race after having been able to fend off a series of attacks from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Although the two teams appeared to have used similar downforce level at Baku, the Monegasque was unable to retake the lead despite using his DRS on the 2.2km start-finish full-throttle section where the DRS zone was extended by 100m compared to the previous season.

Footage from the rear-facing onboard camera showed that the upper flap of the MCL38's rear wing was distorting under load, with the most visible aspect of this being the outer leading edge of the upper flap which tilts upwards as speed builds.

Reflecting on the technical saga, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur insisted that the regulations around the rear wing flexibility are clear.

"I think there is a kind of confusion between what's happened with the front wing and the rear wing. The front wing... We all agree that it could be a grey area because in the TD, the first paragraph of the TD is saying that you can't design part of the car with the intention of the deformation. Intention is difficult to manage.

"The rear wing story is completely different because on the article you have also a maximum deflection. And this is black or white. It's no grey, no dark grey, no light grey. It's black and black (sic). And for me, it's clear.

" Honestly, we are pushing at the limit of what we are considering legal, that I can't ask the team to overshoot this limit. But now we are reacting. As soon as we have a clarification from the FIA, we will act as the FIA, as long as they are OK.

On Friday, the Woking-based outfit confirmed that although they have passed all tests with their former rear wing assembly, they have now completed several tweaks following a request from the FIA.

Pushed on to explain how much of a gain McLaren has been able to secure with their extreme rear wing, Vasseur said that the aggressive approach might have played a key part in Monza and Baku given the brutally close battle at the sharp end of the field.

"This is true. And so far, we had a look on the previous event, and it was only on the low-downforce track. I'm not sure that they could, or they want to use the same trick in Singapore or in Zandvoort, for example.

"But again, we have to give the responsibility to the scrutineering, to the FIA. It's not my job to do it. They have to do it and we have to trust them, honestly. I'm not complaining about this. I think it's more than borderline.

"We all saw the video and the picture of this. And it's a bit frustrating when, if you remember perfectly the situation in Monza, we had five cars in 200th of a second. And you move from P1, P2 to P5, P6 for 200th of a second. In Baku, we arrive 10 laps in a row, side by side, Turn 1. But you can imagine that we have a bit of frustration," Vasseur said.