Toto Wolff addresses McLaren wing ‘game’ as Mercedes ‘priority’ confirmed

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that “naive or not”, they played no part in the saga over McLaren’s ‘mini-DRS’ rear wing.

As Oscar Piastri raced to a second Formula 1 career victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the rear wing on his McLaren MCL38 also caught the eye and led to a fresh chapter in Formula 1’s flexi-wing saga.

McLaren ‘mini-DRS’ wing ‘second priority’ to Mercedes

With the McLaren’s rear upper plane seen separating slightly from the lower element down the Baku straight, it was dubbed the ‘mini-DRS’ with McLaren enjoying a drag reduction, before the planes closed back together once the speed dropped.

This caught the attention of rival teams and while compliant with all FIA scrutineering and all current static tests, McLaren would issue a statement to confirm that – following discussions with the governing body – they would make modifications to this lower downforce rear wing.

“Whilst our Baku rear wing complies with the regulations and passes all FIA deflection tests, McLaren has proactively offered to make some minor adjustments to the wing following our conversations with the FIA,” said McLaren in a statement provided to media, including PlanetF1.com.

“We would also expect the FIA to have similar conversations with other teams in relation to the compliance of their rear wings.”

And while speaking with Sky F1, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was asked for their stance on the matter, with an unnamed team having approached the FIA to raise its concerns over the McLaren rear wing.

Wolff stressed that Mercedes has their own house to get in order first, rather than getting involved with this McLaren ‘mini-DRS’ “game”.

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Mercedes are looking to return to form after a tough run since resuming after the summer break, having won three of the four races heading into it.

“We were so into our own issues to solve them that we didn’t have it on the radar,” Wolff told Sky F1.

“Now, you can say that’s naive or not, but for sure, in Monza and in Baku, it might have had an effect, especially when you see the close racing at the front that happened.

“But we weren’t part of this game, so it was a second priority to us.”

This flexi-wing saga does not appear to be over, as PlanetF1.com understands a formal complaint has also been lodged regarding the McLaren front wings.

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