2006 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race 2/18

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Honda

For the second race weekend in succession, the Honda Racing F1 Team's Anthony Davidson ended Friday free practice as the fastest driver on the track. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were the 6th and 8th fastest of the race drivers in Kuala Lumpur today, as they began their preparations for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Free practice sessions 1 and 2 were conducted in typically fierce heat and humidity at the Sepang Circuit, allowing the drivers to acclimatise to the conditions expected for Sunday's race as they conducted their usual set-up and tyre selection programmes.

Anthony Davidson: "Obviously I'm pleased to end Friday at the top of the timesheets for the second race in a row. It hasn't been quite as straightforward a day as we hoped, due to the problem I had with the rears locking. This caused me to spin and lose a lot of time in the second session. Overall I think we ended the day in better shape and have some good information to work with to improve the car."

Jenson Button: "A pretty straightforward day for us in terms of our set-up and tyre programme. There's still a lot more to come from the car and some work to be done to nail the set-up, as Anthony's problem demonstrated. Hopefully we can solve our problems for tomorrow."

Rubens Barrichello: "We still have some work to do on the braking - I'm still struggling with that a little from Bahrain. There's still a lot of work to do on the set-up but it was positive to see where Anthony ended up today."

Gil de Ferran: "We are happy to have Anthony at the top of the timesheets again, however all three drivers are not entirely pleased with the car, so there is definitely some room for improvement. Despite the fact that the third car running was curtailed, we gathered a lot of data and hopefully will put this to good use tomorrow."

Shuhei Nakamoto: "We had a very straightforward day with the engine today. We do not anticipate any problems due to the high temperatures and humidity, despite the fact that this will be the second race weekend's mileage conducted on both engines. We will analyse the data gathered today and work towards achieving a strong qualifying position tomorrow."

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Midland F1

Adrian Burgess, Sporting Director: "All three cars completed their scheduled programmes and gave us a lot of useful information for tonight. Giorgio did a good job on his first Friday with the team, experiencing no problems whatsoever, which is commendable. Both race drivers also completed their programmes, although we lost a small amount of track time when Tiago experienced a fuel system problem late in the first session. The reliability of the cars in the afternoon was encouraging, though, so we think we've got a handle on that. Hopefully we'll make the right tyre choice tonight, and we'll see what comes tomorrow."

Tiago Monteiro: "It went OK, generally, because I think we improved the car. At least we're going in the right direction, I think. I had limited running in the morning session, so I wasn't able to gather as much information about the tyres as I would have liked. As a result, I was dealing with a little bit of understeer at the beginning of the second session and we had to spend some valuable time getting on top of that. But at least the T-Car put in a lot of laps, so we should have some good information to analyse from that."

Christijan Albers: "This morning, we were a little bit off the pace, but the team did some good work during the break and we managed to come a little bit closer to the rest of the field. I think there's still room to improve, but we made some big steps and put up reasonable times in the second session. We have to see where we can make further gains, and hopefully have a good race."

Giorgio Mondini: "It was great, absolutely fantastic, but my neck let go toward the end of the second session. I did a good run, and I wanted to do a better one - and to be honest, I believe we could have gone even faster - but my neck just couldn't handle it anymore. No amount of training can prepare you for those kinds of loads. I mean, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine, and then - bang - it just lets go, and it's impossible to recover from that. But the team is just amazing, especially my engineers. They really make things easier, because they take time to explain everything. Overall, I think I did a good job. I can go to sleep tonight knowing I helped the team."

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Renault

The Renault F1 Team completed a trouble-free opening day of practice for the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix in the humid heat of Sepang today. As will become the norm in 2006, running was extremely restricted in the opening practice session, and only marginally less so in the second, as teams limited their mileage in order to find the most effective compromise between the running required for tyre and set-up evaluations, and economising engine mileage.

The two Renault drivers completed just installation laps in the opening session, before one short run and one long run in the second hour of practice. They immediately found the R26 to be well-balanced and performing well in the high-speed corners, while the Michelin tyres seemed well suited to the tropical conditions, delivering very consistent performance. The set-ups still require fine-tuning this evening, but the team has had a promising start to the weekend, with the cars finishing well up the timesheets.

Fernando Alonso: We did our job today and the R26 seems competitive. Sepang is a great circuit to drive, one of my favourites, and I was very happy to be out there this afternoon. The heat is really difficult – not just in the car, but in the garage when you stop and there is no ventilation while you are in the car. We have made the usual modifications, but as a driver, you just need to be ready for it, and well prepared. The car is easy to drive here, but we still need more grip and some small changes to the balance. But I think we have a good starting point for the rest of the weekend.

Giancarlo Fisichella: I didn't put a clean lap together on new tyres today, but the car was very consistent indeed on the long run this afternoon. We made some adjustments during the second session, and we have got more to do tonight, but we are definitely moving in the right direction. The car is very stable in the high speed corners, but we need to eliminate a little oversteer in the slower parts. Overall, though, the Renault is consistent and quick here. I am happy this afternoon.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: We once again limited our running owing to the increased mileage required in the new qualifying session. We fully achieved our objectives for the day, with both R26 chassis enjoying a consistent handling balance from the first run onwards. The engines and tyres are both performing well in the very hot conditions.

Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: Engine builders like nothing more than trouble-free days at the track, and that's exactly what we experienced in Sepang. The RS26 V8 is running well, and as usual, our Friday programme consisted of fine-tuning the mapping, and ensuring the engines were coping with the demands of the high temperatures. We obtained the answers we wanted, and have experienced no incidents during the day. It has been a solid start to the weekend.

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - BMW

A good start for the BMW Sauber F1 Team to the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix in the sauna of Sepang. All three drivers ran well as we concentrated on tyre evaluation.

Jacques Villeneuve: It was a pretty good start for us today. To be honest, much better than I expected. The balance of the F1.06 was really good, which is very important so early in the weekend. I had a completely troublefree day and it was fun to drive with the high level of grip available.

Nick Heidfeld: Our first day of practice was fine, so I'm quite happy. This afternoon it wasn't necessary for me to do a lot of running, because the balance of the car felt good straight away. Sepang is a circuit I really enjoy, driving is so much fun here.

Robert Kubica: We gathered plenty of data today, especially this afternoon when we did some race simulation, and obviously that is the most important thing on a Friday. Sepang is quite a difficult circuit, with a lot of long corners with different lines, but I think after five laps I felt quite familiar with it.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): This first practice day went as expected. Robert did 59 laps and most of the set-up work, and as in Bahrain he did a good job. The only problem we had all day was a slight glitch with the clutch as he was leaving the pits on his last stint this afternoon. We now need to make our tyre decision and to work on set-up for Saturday, and thanks to our reliability today we have plenty of data to enable us to optimise the cars.

Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis): Today we concentrated completely on tyre evaluation. Robert was doing the long-runs, so we were able to collect a lot of data which we now have to analyse in order to make the best decision for qualifying and the race.

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - McLaren

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya ended Friday afternoon's free practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit in fifth and 14th positions respectively, with ambient temperatures reaching 37 degrees centigrade and track temperatures of 44 degrees. Kimi completed 16 laps and set a time 1:36.132 whilst Juan Pablo did 16 laps with a best time of 1:37.463. In the morning Juan Pablo had been fourth fastest with a 1:36.709. Kimi did not set a time in the session due to a data logging problem on his car. The afternoon session finished with Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya setting the sixth and 15th fastest time of the day.

Kimi Raikkonen: "I am happy with the set up of the car and we managed to complete our programme today despite the small problem this morning with the data logging, where the team decided to cancel my run, whilst there was nothing wrong with the car. The Michelin tyres are working well and I think we look strong compared to our main rivals but we will have to see what happens tomorrow."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I am pretty happy with the car this weekend. This morning we completed one run to see how the car felt and this was pretty good. This afternoon we concentrated on the race set up. There is still a little bit of work to do tomorrow with understanding the car a little better, but the whole package has improved from last weekend. Despite stalling at the end of the grid in the second session and a spin later on we managed to complete our programme and we will see if we have done enough in qualifying tomorrow."

Ron Dennis: "A relatively uneventful first day of practice and the team now looks forward to tomorrow's qualifying session."

Norbert Haug: "A normal Friday practice session where we completed out planned programme and made good progress with the set up of the cars for the weekend."

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Ferrari

Jean Todt: "I am happy to be here in Malaysia, a country which in recent years I have really learnt to love and that I find fascinating. As usual, Friday is mainly for comparing the two kinds of Bridgestone tyres we have available. Today this work was done mainly by Felipe, because, unfortunately, he had to fit a fresh engine on his car. The track results seem to have confirmed the considerable potential that was shown by the cars and the Bridgestone tyres in Bahrain and during the winter testing. We're competitive in race trim and we count on looking good in qualifying tomorrow as well in that I think that, as on the Sakhir circuit last week, it's going to be a close battle for pole. As usual here in Malaysia the weather conditions are tough for the cars, the drivers and for the people working in the pits."

Michael Schumacher: "In general we're pleased with the way things went during free practice. Towards the end of the session we managed to improve the balance of the car. As far as times are concerned, apart from what the third drivers do, who do a different job compared to the others, I think that the situation is quite clear. I could have been a bit quicker with my new tyres when I went out on my first run, but I lost a lot of time in a corner of the third sector. The consistency of the Bridgestone tyres looks pretty good, which of course is very important. The actual time recorded is of less importance at this stage because the times improve as the weekend progresses. I reckon that we're competitive and that, like in Bahrain, here in Malaysia we can fight for pole position and for a win on Sunday."

Felipe Massa: "I think it went very well. We worked for the race by doing quite a few long runs. The car went well both with used and new tyres and I am very pleased with our race pace. In my opinion we have a good car for the race. Qualifying will of course be a bit difficult for me because I have to pay the price for the engine change, but considering the pace we had during the long run, I think we're in good shape for a good result on Sunday."

Ross Brawn: "I'd say that it was a good day during which we made a really extensive assessment of the two Bridgestone tyres we had available. The overall balance of the 248F1 is very good. There are a couple of details we need to sort out but we've got plenty of time to do it. The drivers were quite happy with the cars that looked very consistent."

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Toyota

After its disappointing performance last week in Bahrain, Panasonic Toyota Racing today began its quest for improvement during free practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix. On a hot but cloudy day at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli put in their first laps of what promises to be a challenging weekend. Both drivers put in more laps than usual for a Friday as Toyota seeks to learn how to make the most of its new package. Ralf and Jarno completed their programmes of tyre comparison and set-up work and will now look to continue the learning process over the rest of the weekend.

Jarno Trulli worked hard to gain information to help Toyota progress from last week's performance.

Jarno Trulli: "We spent the two sessions trying to collect more data on our new package. Our grip level is not yet there and although we look slightly more competitive than in Bahrain we still have work to do. Our challenge is to get the car and tyres working together. For that we need to carry out a detailed analysis, but of course there has been no chance to test since Bahrain so we will have to continue that work this weekend. I am sure we have not seen the true potential of our car yet. We understand the problem but the solution is not straightforward. We are obviously looking to have a better race than we had in Bahrain but the important thing for us is to spend these early race weekends getting to the root of the problem."

After the difficulties of Bahrain, Ralf Schumacher was happier with his TF106 around the Sepang circuit.

Ralf Schumacher: "Today we completed more running than usual because we are still trying to find out how to make the most of our package. We've been struggling for grip and the Bahrain weekend showed us we still have a way to go. But today the car felt much better and the grip level has increased quite a lot. The traction and the tyres seem to be working better with this track surface and the heat. I was caught in traffic on my last run so we could have further improved our time. Our aim this weekend has to be to collect information for future races but we have already collected some useful data. So that's an encouraging start."

It was a hard day of preparation for Panasonic Toyota Racing in preparation for Sunday's Malaysian GP.

Dieter Gass – Chief Engineer Race and Test: "Today we made a step forward from what we saw in Bahrain. We've done a lot of work on the tyre and the set-up and we've collected some good information, especially from the tyres. For tomorrow we will try to improve the set-up of the cars. We did more running than we normally do because we saved some mileage last weekend which we can use here to get the maximum information possible. Given all that, we have plenty of information with which to make the tyre choice. It's still a bit early to say how much the conditions here will affect our performance. But given that we have struggled to get temperature into the tyres the higher track temperature should help us."

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Bridgestone

Bridgestone-shod Alex Wurz set the fastest time of the day this morning at the Sepang International Circuit as the Formula One teams prepared for round two of the FIA Formula One World Championship in Malaysia. As a Friday test driver, Wurz has the benefit of running without the need to preserve his engine and carries out essential tyre assessment work on behalf of his team. His Williams teammates consequently did not run in the first session and waited until the afternoon practice before venturing out of the garage for a limited number of laps. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa were also up with the front runners in today's sessions, setting the tone for the weekend ahead. MF1 Racing made use of their Friday test driver Giorgio Mondini, the Swiss driver putting in 22 and 20 laps in the respective sessions on his F1 debut.

Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager: "As is the case on a Friday the track conditions took a while to clean up but the grip improved towards the end of the session. WilliamsF1's Alex Wurz used the session well to get some consistent and competitive runs in, setting the fastest lap of the session in the process which will be encouraging for the Bridgestone runners. The afternoon session produced more action from the teams and the improved conditions allowed for a fuller assessment of the teams' primary and option specifications. Although we still have tomorrow's session it looks as if we will see a cross section of our tyre specifications in the race on Sunday. We expected hot conditions for this race weekend and it seems as if the specifications we have brought will be competitive this weekend."

 

[Flibster]

Friday notes - Michelin

Honda test driver Anthony Davidson was the quickest Michelin runner on the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Englishman posted a 1:35.041s lap in the second free practice session, which took place in hot, muggy conditions similar to those that are likely to prevail during Sunday's 56-lap race. Robert Kubica was third on aggregate while world championship leader Fernando Alonso was fourth overall and quickest of the regular race drivers, a fraction ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella.

Honda test driver Anthony Davidson and MF1 racer Christijan Albers were both fined for speeding in the pit lane this morning.

Davidson missed a large part of the day's second free practice session after spinning off the circuit at Turn 14.

David Coulthard and Felipe Massa will be docked 10 places on Sunday's grid after making unscheduled engine changes. Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneuve also have fresh V10s this weekend. As they failed to finish the previous race in Bahrain, however, the regulations absolve them of any penalty.

Giorgio Mondini conducted testing duties for the MF1 team today. The Swiss driver is one of several youngsters MF1 intends to evaluate during grand prix weekends.

Red Bull driver Vitantonio Liuzzi spun into the pit lane entrance during today's second free practice session, but didn't make contact with the barriers.

Nick Shorrock, Michelin Formula One director: "Conditions were cooler than we anticipated during the first free practice session, which caused softer compounds to grain a little, but that problem went away this afternoon when the heat returned to its customary ferocity.

"As we saw in Bahrain, the level of competition promises to be extremely high this season and today's closely-matched times reflect as much. Our partners have completed a number of useful long runs, however, and that has given us an excellent platform for the balance of the weekend. We have brought seven different types of tyre to Sepang and, on the basis of what we have seen so far, I expect a number of them to be used in Sunday's race."

 

[Flibster]

Echo....

 

[evulboo]

Nice round up again Simon, Good work

 

[Flibster]

Midland calls on tougher restrictions for Toro Rosso

The biggest issue on the opening day of practice at the Bahrain grand Prix a week ago was that the new Toro Rosso was, as expected with the restricted V10, quicker than a lot of their rivals, and according to our spies in Bahrain, after some quick times and a good long run from Liuzzi were put on the board at the end of day one, MF1 team principal Colin Kolles asked the FIA to hand out tougher restrictions to the Cosworth V10 powerplant.

While many thought that this would be the case if the Cosworth proved to be remarkably quicker, Midland was not alone in their complaint with other manufacturers also backing Kolles up including Mario Theissen from BMW…

“We measured on a V10 with a rev limit of 16,70p rpm and an air restrictor of 77 mm around 800 hp. For sure this engine has a 20% better torque,” he said.

However, Toro Rosso team Principal, Franz tost kept his cool in the situation and blamed the situation on his rivals lack of track time…

“How can they complain? We tested in Bahrain in February and did a lot of laps on Friday. If the others stay in their garage all the time they only have themselves to blame for not producing good laptimes.”

 

[Flibster]

Briatore calls for qualifying tweak

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore is pushing for a change to Formula One's new qualifying rules after just one race of the season.

The Italian, who was a prime mover in the decision to drop the single-lap format, said in Malaysia that the new rules introduced in Bahrain last week are a big improvement. But he believes the third part of the session should be simplified.

"I'm not happy with the first part of qualifying three," he said. "It's confusing. Firstly there should be a times window on the TV because it is difficult to follow. It's hard for the spectators to understand why they are going round and round."

Briatore said that the reactions from audiences has been positive, but believes that the rule that dictates cars start the final part of the session on race fuel levels should be dropped.

As things stand, the cars spend the first part of the session lapping constantly to burn off fuel and then go for a time.

Briatore believes a simple rule-change would spice up the battle for pole position.

"One by one is boring. I don't want that. But I believe in qualifying three you should have 15 minutes to set your time. You put as much fuel in the car as you want - say 70 kilos – and then at the end the car goes into Parc Ferme and however much you have left is the amount you start the race with."

There is a precedent for changing qualifying during the season. Last year an aggregate system was dropped in favour of a single run.

"I believe it is possible to change," said Briatore. "We just have to sit down and decide. Let's see. Bernie [Ecclestone] is the first to understand these things."

 

[Flibster]

Briatore: no rush over Fisichella's future

Giancarlo Fisichella has been told that he has at least until the start of the European season to convince Renault bosses that he is worth keeping for next year.

The Italian endured a frustrating 2005 campaign with the team, as poor reliability wrecked his chances of fighting for the title, and had hoped that the new season would bring improved fortunes.

However, his year got off to the worst possible start when engine problems ruined his Bahrain Grand Prix weekend and left him unable to show what he could really do.

Renault boss Flavio Briatore insists, however, that a decision about Fisichella's future has not been taken yet - and claims the team are not in a rush to choose a replacement for Fernando Alonso.

"We have a very competitive team, so we need to find the right drivers," said Briatore at Sepang. "We'll see what happens.

"Fisichella's problems in Bahrain were completely our fault, we blame ourselves. We'll see how he is after three or four races. It is his second year with the team after a difficult season last year. We have plenty of time.

"We also have (test driver, Heikki) Kovalainen and we are pleased with him. Anything can happen."

 

[Flibster]

Schumacher to change engine too?

Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was expecting his engine to be completely fine. His team mate, Felipe Massa, had to change his engine already as it would probably not last until the end of the race in Malaysia. After Friday's practice Schumacher got doubts about his engine too.

"It could be possible that we have to change our engine, but we hope we don't have to take these actions. On Saturday evening we will know more…" commented Schumacher in Malaysia.

If Schumacher will need to change his engine Red Bull driver Christian Klien is the only one left at the grid that will use his Ferrari V8 engine two races. Coulthard had an engine failure right after the finish of the Bahrain Grand Prix and Massa changed his engine before the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.

So..50% failure rate after 1 race...
Could be 75% after tomorrow...

 

[Flibster]

Standard ECUs facing opposition

Formula One's manufacturers have expressed their reservations about a future switch to standard ECUs in the sport.

Following a series of meetings between the carmakers and the FIA in Bahrain to discuss the issue, high level sources have revealed that the standard ECU issue is now the major hurdle to be overcome to head off the threat of a breakaway championship.

But even though FIA president Max Mosley is understood to be unwilling to back down in his plans for the ECU, the manufacturers have said they are still not convinced it is the right way for F1.

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen said: "As we understand, the original aim was to rule out artificial driver aids and we fully support that, even if road cars have it, we want to see the best drivers out here and want them to cope with the car at the limit and that is certainly more exciting without driver aids.

"We have had talks between the manufacturers and some teams, I think it was a year ago - at least a year ago – about how to achieve that, and we came to the conclusion that it should be possible to do that with a controlled section, accessible to the FIA, to make sure that there are not artificial driver aids.

"We would prefer to go along this route because today there are not the mechanical parts, components, development on one hand and the electronics components on the other hand. Virtually everything comes with its electronics and virtually every functionality is controlled electronically.

"So in order to have the possibility to test new functionalities, we would need to have access to the electronics and then you are immediately down to the question: what is standardised?"

Toyota president John Howett added: "I think in principle, most of the manufacturers would prefer freedom with the ECU, at least the actual cost of the ECU itself is not of an extreme magnitude. OK, one would probably need to be more draconian in restricting electronic capacity to significantly reduce the cost area.

"I think there is an issue of actually ensuring that there are no artificial aids which are intended to be eliminated, such as traction control in the future, and therefore by having a standard ECU it may make it very easy to police and avoid any rumours of a certain team having this capability or not.

"I believe that's one of the reasons that the FIA wishes to integrate the actual standard ECU, but I think as a preference we would prefer to keep freedom."

Honda Racing technical director Geoff Willis also claimed it would be difficult for the teams to integrate standard ECUs into their cars in time for the start of 2008.

"Changing ECUs and changing all the integrated code with it and the software the team uses is a very big challenge and there's not a lot of time between now and the beginning of 2008," he explained.

"And none of us would want to be starting on January 1, 2008 with a new system. We want to be trying to test it earlier so I think there's a pretty tight timescale."

 

[Flibster]

No plans to replace Schumacher's engine

Ferrari are confident they will not need to change the engine on Michael Schumacher's car ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, even though they are monitoring its performance carefully.

Concerns about Schumacher's engine have been evident at Sepang following the failures suffered by Felipe Massa and David Coulthard's V8 power-units in Bahrain.

But despite rumours spreading around the paddock that Schumacher's engine could need to be replaced as well, a Ferrari spokesman has told autosport.com that the team are content with the situation at the moment.

"There is no problem with Michael's engine," said the spokesman. "It is sleeping well right now in his car.

"Of course we are monitoring the situation - it is quite natural when you have failures like Felipe's and Coulthard's. But there is no discussion on replacing Michael's engine."

Schumacher himself said earlier that the team were looking closely at his engine as a precaution, to ensure there were no risks of a failure in qualifying or the race.

"At the moment there isn't a real problem, but we'll check it and reflect over it. We'll know with certainty tomorrow," he said.

"Let's put it this way: there is a theoretical possibility we'll have to change the engine, but I hope it won't happen."

 

[Dutch Guy]

So..50% failure rate after 1 race...
Could be 75% after tomorrow...

Hardly surprising really.

Tough decision though, go with the first engine and risk a failure or get a new one but start 10 places lower on the grid

 

[Flibster]

Willis: rear wing rules not tight enough

Honda Racing's technical director Geoff Willis believes the regulations concerning rear wings should be tightened up, to ensure teams do not use parts that flex at high speed for performance benefit.

The matter of flexing rear wings has been on the agenda for the past week, after claims at Bahrain that Ferrari's rear wing could be flexing at high speed even though it was found to be fully legal when stationary in the garage.

Following the close examination of the Ferrari rear wing in Bahrain, FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting conducted further tests of the Renault and Honda Racing wings in Sepang on Friday.

Willis claims, however, that the existing tests may not be sufficient to prevent such flexing from happening.

"The issue about the flexibility of rear wings is a difficult one, because clearly all engineering structures do deflect," the Honda technical director said.

"The question is whether you are allowed to make performance benefit from that, and the FIA has clarified on several occasions that you are not.

"The difficulty is what sort of a test you can come up with that is safe to perform in parc ferme conditions. The rear wings do have very significant loads on them, which you probably wouldn't want to place on the car in parc ferme - in case they fell off and hurt somebody."

The focus on rear wings is believed to revolve around the possibility that careful designs could allow the gap between the two top elements of the wing to close-up at high speed - therefore greatly reducing drag.

Willis believes that new regulations may be needed to ensure teams do not get around the regulations in this manner.

 

[Flibster]

Brawn: current wing tests are sufficient

Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn does not believe there needs to be a change in how rear wings are tested for flexibility, despite growing calls for the FIA to impose tighter restrictions.

Rear wing deflection has become a hot topic since last week's Bahrain Grand Prix, after Renault's Pat Symonds and others suggested that the wing on the Ferrari 248 F1 may meet the letter of the law, but was not within its spirit.

Deflection is currently measured by applying loads at certain points on the rear wing, but Ferrari's rivals have pointed out this doesn't mean that the wing cannot deflect between those points.

The Ferrari rear wing was given the all-clear by FIA delegate Charlie Whiting, and Brawn was adamant that the current tests used to verify the wing legality are accurate.

Furthermore, the Briton insisted that any component is designed right up to the very limit allowed in the regulations, with rear wings being no different.

Asked about the accuracy of the testing method employed by the FIA, Brawn said: "It's accurate enough. It's a device, they put a load on it, and they measure the deflection. It's an accurate enough process, and we all have a set of rules that we comply to.

"Within the spirit of the regulations it's up to the F1 teams to take the maximum advantage as they can from the regulations. It's been like that ever since I've been involved in F1, and any team that wants to be competitive has to take that approach. And that's everything.

"You run within a one kilo of the weight limit. You don't run 10kgs within the weight limit because you want to be safe, you run one kilo within the weight limit.

"The FIA defines how stiff they want the wing to be, and you make it that stiff, or slightly stiffer.

"That's how it's laid out in the regulations now, and we may well see some new tests evolve in the next few races. But I think what we have now is accurate."

However, with calls for the FIA to adopt stricter tests, Brawn said he expects the FIA to give the teams ample notice should they choose to introduce new methods, and not make such changes during a Grand Prix weekend.

"They're entitled to change the regulations any time they want, which may be the case," Brawn said.

"Maybe they decide that the wings are evolving in a way they don't like, and they'll change the regulations again. But that's their prerogative.

"In theory, they can change that today. The trouble is that if they enforce structural changes to something as critical as a rear wing, it's not a sensible thing to do [in short notice].

"If people have to modify the rear wings because they impose a test, and they try to impose that during a race weekend, you've got a situation where a critical component - and a very highly stressed component - could be compromised.

"So I don't think it's very sensible. History shows that they've always done it between races, and gave people a couple of weeks to react. I think that's the most likely scenario, if they choose to change."