Mercedes 'furious' at FIA over 'illegal' concerns over new upgrade for US GP

Mercedes has taken aim at the FIA ​​after its new front wing design was rejected ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix. The fallout comes after the FIA ​​reportedly already gave the Silver Arrows the green light to build the new wing.

Mercedes arrived at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin with an upgraded W13, which included a host of modifications. But they came under fire as teams debated whether the new wing was legal.

The wing has five fins to direct air out of the car. And, according to , Mercedes had sent computer-aided design data to the FIA ​​for approval before starting their upgrade. The FIA ​​gave them the go-ahead to make the changes, but have now decided that the stabilizers do not comply with the regulations.

And Mercedes is not happy with the U-turn. The Silver Arrows do not agree with the FIA's assessment and will now be forced to reduce the stabilizer bars.

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"The changes reduce downforce at the front wing tip, improve flow to the front brake ducts, which in turn improves turbulence handling around the wing," Andrew Shovlin said Thursday. , chief race engineer at Mercedes. But now it looks like the Brackley-based team will have to rethink.

On Friday, journalist Ted Kravitz assessed Mercedes fenders in the pit lane at Circuit of the Americas and explained why the fallout occurred. "So what you're allowed to do with the wings, you're allowed to have these space dividers," he said.

"This is to separate the front wing flaps and make sure they all stay together and have consistent spacing. You are allowed as many of them as needed on the wing Now what you are not allowed is any of the old front fender furniture that directed the airflow in the direction you wanted to put it in. You are not allowed any of these items now.

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"What Mercedes did with their new front wing is say, 'aha, but look these are just front wing spacer splitters, your honor. They are in no way designed to capture the air and push it outward around the front tire and to the side. It looks like they are.'

"So I think that's where the other teams' questions come from. The other teams said, 'OK, look, I know what you're saying. You're saying it's basically about slit space dividers. But it's clear that these are slit dividers that masquerade as air conditioners in the front to create a washout. Well, it's obvious that what they want the air to do."