FIA’s rear wing changes won’t decide title – Marko

Max Verstappen Christian Horner Helmut Marko
Red Bull driver programme boss Helmut Marko says the FIA’s upcoming change of stance on rear wings will not impact the title race.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton drew attention to the “bendy” rear wing on the Red Bull RB16B, claiming it was worth three tenths to the Austrian-owned outfit during qualifying.
Red Bull was clear that the wing was fully compliant with the regulations, but since then the FIA have announced that from June 15 they will be introducing new tests on the flexibility of the cars’ rear wings, giving teams a month to correct any issues.
Marko was adamant though that any impact will not be strong enough to influence the title battle between Mercedes and Red Bull.
“That’s an old story. During our World Championship years, I think we had to improve the front wings two or three times in one season,” he told Motorsport-Magazin.com.
“The FIA draws up regulations and the teams try to use them as optimally as possible. But it’s not just Red Bull – other teams are just as affected.
“We assume we may have to make minimal improvements with regard to the interpretation that is now coming. This is a different interpretation than the previous one.
“But it’s not the case that it would somehow be decisive for the championship.”

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Red Bull have not held back when expressing their belief that Mercedes are playing mind games with them in the race for title glory in 2021.
But as for the FIA, Marko said it is just normal for some teams to find ways to work around the regulations they set. There are no evil intentions from either side.
“I don’t know how many technical people the FIA has, but certainly far fewer than any Formula 1 team,” he explained.
“They are up against an armada of technically highly-qualified engineers. Some try to be as compliant to the regulations as possible and others try to work around them as best they can within the rules. In that sense, there is no bad faith on either side.”
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