The new creative Aston Martin rear wing
Aston Martin has raised some eyebrows at Hungarian Grand Prix by introducing a creative rear wing that may or may not have broken one of the 2022's rule.
The team introduced an intriguing wing design in Budapest on Friday, having seemingly found a loophole in the wording of the regulations and been given the go-ahead by the FIA to pursue its novel interpretation.
For the Hungaroring weekend, Aston Martin has introduced a design which reverses the intent posed by the new regulations.
With the new wing features, a unique arrangement on the forwardmost portion of the endplate that allows the mainplane in a more traditional way, increasing its span and the downforce that can be generated.
The endplate's vertical presence above the mainplane is an anomaly with these new regulations and is made possible due to the presence of the apostrophe-like rolled over section that has required the designers to reinterpret the radius and curvature required within the regulations.
In order to manage the airflow's trajectory and the pressure distribution around this region, the team has also flared out the rearmost portion of the endplate at the intersection with the mainplane's trailing edge, in order that the two work harmoniously.
Four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel who’s retiring after the season had some words about the new wing. Vettel suggested the wing did not represent a “massive step in performance” and added that the team had been more aggressive than usual with its Friday run plan.
Comparing Vettel was 12th, 13th and 13th in the last three FP2 sessions, although he was fourth in the same session in Montreal. His apparent speed has caught the attention of rival teams that were surprised by the wing design.
“Overall, it was a good day for us,” he said. “We didn't have any problems; we were able to get a good feel of the car. It's still a bit disconnected here and there, and some stuff to do. Obviously, this is a track where you try to have and put all the downforce on the car that you can. Obviously, there's a new rear wing, it's not a secret.”
“It's not a massive step in performance. I think it's doing what it was supposed to, so you don't see a big, big jump for us.”
The FIA may choose to look at it and try to rephrase the wording of the regulations to stifle any further developments in this direction in the future, given it goes against the overall aims of the F1 2022 rules overhaul.
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