Max Verstappen says Red Bull have nothing to fear from rivals who have suggested their flexing rear wings could face a protest this weekend.
Tougher rear wing tests will be introduced ahead of the next round of the world championship in France. Teams were advised of the change after the rear wings used by Red Bull and other teams were seen to be flexing at high speed.Mercedes and McLaren have claimed delaying the introduction of the test until after this weekend will allow some of their rivals to continue using designs which do not confirm to the rules. They have suggested the wings could be protested.
However Verstappen told Sky he is not concerned by the threat. “It is what it is,” he said. “I can understand, of course, other people looking into things when we are doing a good job with the car this season.
“So I can understand people complaining. But it’s all within the rules so far. There’s nothing wrong we did. Of course, they try to slow us down.”
Red Bull have accused other teams of running front wings which flex excessively. “You have to look at the overall picture,” said Verstappen. “The most important and dominant part of the car is the front and we are not flexing as much as other teams there.”
After taking the championship lead with victory in Monaco, Verstappen expects Mercedes will provide tougher competition in Azerbaijan this weekend.
“They still have a very good car,” he said. “Monaco never really suited them, they have a very long wheelbase which is not amazing around there.
“But overall for the rest of the season it seems like it’s quite a strong tool. They have been winning a lot of championships so they know what they have to do and I really expect them to bounce back strong.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Aston Martin also confirms it followed Pirelli’s tyre restrictions before crash
- Pirelli confirm teams not to blame for Baku tyre failures following investigation
- “Tyres should not explode like that” says Villeneuve as Pirelli prepares to reveal findings
- Why Alonso is able to enjoy F1 more now than when he left
- Penalty for Safety Car error was just one of Latifi’s frustrations in Baku
Green Flag (@greenflag)
3rd June 2021, 19:50
Hopefully Mercedes will have their own flexi-wing (compliant with current testing protocols, of course) this weekend.
erikje
3rd June 2021, 20:39
They already have one on the front.
All within the rules.
Robbie (@robbie)
3rd June 2021, 20:52
Ya for sure. Mercedes’ wing already flexes some anyway as a side by side with RBR’s from Imola showed, and they’re complying to the current tests, and if Mercedes wants to bring an even flexier wing have at it and they sure won’t be able to protest anything.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th June 2021, 3:59
@robbie Not if RB are running a flexi front wing as well, it would obviosly be dealt with separately.
Do you think Merc have developed their own more flexible rear wing and not used it? Lets be clear the development of these parts are not done overnight and I would suggest that’s at least part of the reasons they’re going after RB. They don’t have one and are not in the position to design and test one quickly enough to make it worthwhile for this season.
RandomMallard (@)
4th June 2021, 7:22
@johnrkh I seem to remember something last summer about Mercedes rear wing and whether it was flexing, and they eventually brought a new part out of a fear they would be protested. So essentially yes, they probably do have a flexible rear wing and are choosing not to use it so that they can claim the moral high ground.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th June 2021, 10:35
@randommallard Thanks for that.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th June 2021, 1:43
It is a high rake thing.
petebaldwin (@)
4th June 2021, 12:55
@greenflag – They do. Anthony Davidson just showed a comparison of the rear wings and Mercedes’ win is flexing just as much as Red Bull’s. He showed a comparison of the wings at Barcelona and Mercedes’ hardly moved there so they’ve obviously changed it for this weekend. Interestingly, Ant pointed out that a flexing wing at Barcelona isn’t necessarily a benefit at Barcelona as you lose downforce through the quick, long turns like turn 3.
Aston W
3rd June 2021, 20:00
Max is being fed lines from the RBR team who know nothing about what they are talking about.
The rear wing is clearly in breach of the specifications, as it is not static.
Whereas there is nothing written in the specifications against having a front wing that flexes.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
3rd June 2021, 22:57
I wonder if Red Bull will raise the front wing issue officially. They do have a point. Why only look at the rear wing and not the front?
As much as I’m sick of hearing about it, might as well stoop to Mercedes level.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
3rd June 2021, 22:58
PS, are legal costs exempt from the budget cap? Maybe this is the new avenue massive teams can outspend on.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
4th June 2021, 1:41
Actually, that’s an interesting point. Not necessarily legal costs but let’s say for example one or more teams are forced to redesign and develop a new rear or front wing because it gets deemed illegal “in season”.
If they’re already on budget cap, can they spend the extra money without penalty or do they have to cut som expenses to do it inside budget? Re-creating a wing is not a cheap exercise, it’s not like they can just weld on a bit of metal to stiffen it up like they used to.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th June 2021, 3:47
@dbradock I’m thinking legal costs would be outside of the budget cap, but any redesign because would come from within the budget.
Balue (@balue)
4th June 2021, 6:53
@skipgamer Yes why wouldn’t they
kpcart
4th June 2021, 7:11
Red bulls front flexes as much as Mercedes so they wont
Wayne
4th June 2021, 5:25
Lol other teams arw k owi g teying to slow you down but ensure everyone is raci g with legal cars to maintain fairness. At the end of the day would yiu want to win a race or championship with a cloud of doubt and possible cheating over your head..
Chaitanya
4th June 2021, 7:09
Crashtappen seems to be learning to moan from his bosses and is he forgetting how his own team pushed for mid-season rule changes(proper ban on parts and technical regulations rather than questioning legality) to slow down AMG-Mercedes(which backfired royally in their own faces)?
Esploratore (@esploratore)
4th June 2021, 8:12
Crashtappen? Last mistake made being 3 years ago? Time to start finding new names.
Chaitanya
4th June 2021, 9:50
So what were Hungarian GP and Portugal GP(and his use of derogatory language towards Central Asian people which was justified by both bosses and even virtue signaling Hamilton had kept his mouthshut) incidents?
Dave
9th June 2021, 8:34
Here’s one thing I want to say to you: Not a shred of honor.
Dave
13th June 2021, 15:23
BREAKING NEWS: “Chaitanya” fired from team over forbidden word
“This is a fair and deserved dismissal for him” – says the team boss
You know what? You sound like you want to kill him.
Dave
16th June 2021, 18:16
SO wHat weRe hungARian gp AND PorTUgAL gp(anD His use of DErogatOry lanGUAGe TOwARDS centraL aSIAN pEOPle WhICH WAs JUSTiFIeD by bOTh bOssEs anD EvEN VIrTUe siGnAlIng hamiltoN HAD kEpT HIs mouThSHut) INcIDentS?
I condemn the Portugal one but you really need to think twice before mentioning the names of all Formula One drivers ever.
Dave
28th June 2021, 7:43
Him saying this is like killing Verstappen or killing John Wick’s dog or killing me.
Niki101
4th June 2021, 8:26
@Whineanya
Yeah sure, moaning right:
“It is what it is,” he said. “I can understand, of course, other people looking into things when we are doing a good job with the car this season.”
“So I can understand people complaining. But it’s all within the rules so far. There’s nothing wrong we did. Of course, they try to slow us down.”
Damn, that is some serious moaning………
But hey, given your choice of “nicknames” bet no one is expecting a factual comment from you.
Dave
9th June 2021, 8:33
shots fired.
jff
4th June 2021, 9:19
How creative. It seems like merging the name of Verstappen with ‘crashing’.
What about: Hamileton, Botpass, Rushell, or (Scott) Speed?
Dave
9th June 2021, 9:08
He is selling us out. He’s a double agent. He’s a traitor.
Dave
9th June 2021, 8:32
Okay, get in the coffin now.
Dave
14th June 2021, 9:25
cR@$hT@Pp£n SeEMs TO bE leArNing To MOAN fROM his bOSseS
What you say Chaitanya? What you say? What you say?! You sound like you want to kill him. You sound like you want to kill him.
Dave
29th August 2021, 12:30
“Cr@$Ht@pp£n SEeMS tO Be lEarning TO mOan fRoM his bOssEs ANd Is HE foRGETtIng How hIS oWn TEaM puShed FoR MId-sEaSOn rule ChANGes(PRoPeR BaN On parts And tEChniCAL reguLATIonS RAtHer tHAN quEstiOnInG legALITy) to slOW doWN Amg-MErCeDES(WhiCH BaCkfIRed rOYALly in tHeir Own FaceS)?”
Hey you. I saw what the hell you said about the Red Bull member dismissed. You taked about the golden boy, huh? Walking away with nothing, huh?! Yeah that was going, going, gone because you tried to kill him. As a Max traitor, I condemn this sickening word.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
4th June 2021, 7:19
Verstappen: water is wet
Matthijs (@matthijs)
4th June 2021, 7:41
Red Bull’s rear wing is flexing, Mercedes’ front wing is flexing. I think it is only fair that both teams ask FIA whether it is within the rules. Check it, approve it (or not) and get on with it.
jff
4th June 2021, 8:58
As far as I recall you cannot ask if something is legal, but only protesting and alleging it’s illegal.
You can ask for clarifications but those replies don’t necessarily mean the solution is legal.
Jeorge (@jeorge)
4th June 2021, 10:50
He’s not wrong
Lewhine Hamilton being the No.1 driver
Wolf crier being the Team Principal
Of course I have no beef with Valterri Bottler
You can expect a lot of noise, singing and complaining when they get challenged
I wonder what they’ll whine about if they happen to win?
“Waaah we won but we’re underdogs and Redbull cheated. We are an honest team waaah”
Ben (@x-f1-x)
4th June 2021, 11:25
This……this is brilliant :)
Dave
9th June 2021, 9:08
Did I hear “Red Bull is a noob team”?
slowmo (@slowmo)
4th June 2021, 14:57
Driving for a team that’s spent 7 years whining to slow down Mercedes this seems a bit rich.
Dave
13th June 2021, 15:24
Havean’t heard someone saying that they want to kill Verstappen since the aftermath of the Baku 2018 incident.
Dave
23rd October 2021, 22:47
Oh yeah, Chaitanya (who still wants him killed) still does. German police should stop that p—k.