The FIA is making a rule change ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix (Image: Getty)
The are reportedly set to introduce a new technical directive ahead of the , imposing stricter restrictions on the flexing allowed from rear wings. This decision comes after comments in pre-season from Pierre Wache accusing and of still using the ‘mini-DRS’ trick that was a key topic of debate last season. This debate first blew up after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when on-board footage from Oscar Piastri’s showed the rear wing of the MCL38 bending slightly under load.
This created a small slip in the component outside of the DRS zones, allegedly boosting straight-line speed. In response to complaints, the FIA started to monitor the components towards the end of 2024 and imposed statics tests for the 2025 campaign. According to a report from , the sport’s governing body is ‘furious’ after teams ‘bypassed’ these tests and the previously imposed limitations.
This confirms the suspicions of technical director Wache, who said during pre-season testing: “It is still going on. I think and are doing the mini-DRS stuff still.”
As explained in the AutoRacer report, the FIA are responding and plans to update Article 3.15.17 of the technical regulations ahead of the Chinese GP. This will reduce the passing measurements for the rear wing slot gaps from 2mm allowed in Melbourne to 0.5mm.
While it is unclear which teams will be negatively impacted by this, Wache and will hope that are among the organisations affected. was forced to watch on, powerless, in Melbourne as opened a seven-point championship lead.
Pierre Wache complained about flexi-wings in pre-season (Image: Getty)
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The Brit sealed pole position ahead of team-mate Piastri on Saturday and held his nerve throughout a chaotic, rain-affected Grand Prix the following day to claim his fifth career victory.
are now convincing title favourites in both the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship. It is expected that their advantage over the field will be larger at conventional, purpose-built racetracks, such as the Shanghai International Circuit at which F1 will race this weekend.
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“They’re at such an advantage because they can stop development now and go fully on ‘26 as it’s difficult to overcome that gap,” explained driver in Melbourne. “ started the [2024] season off so far ahead of everyone, but I don’t think people overtook them in terms of development.
“They brought some things to the car and went backwards – or had some things – let’s say – clarified, and went backwards. If you’ve got a six-tenths advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six-tenths throughout the course of a year. So are in prime position for now and the future.”