Lewis Hamilton slap F1 Spanish GP Flexi-wing changes as “a waste of money”

Lewis Hamilton believes that it was “a waste of money” to force the teams to develop new wings despite a mine difference Spanish Grand Prix.

Before the Barcelona weekend, there were a myriad of suggestions that McLaren And Mercedes would be much closer to the tastes of Red Bull and Ferrari With the compulsory introduction of new wings before.

It was suspected that the two teams had exploited the limits of regulations more than others, using Front Wing Flex to obtain a more uniform balance between performance in high speed and low speed corners.

A reduction of 5 mm of flexion authorized in the wings when it was tested by the FIA ​​had been introduced for Spain, ending a thread that started last season when Red Bull and Ferrari asked for clarification of the director’s organ on the conceptions of the wings of their rivals.

By qualifying for the Spanish GP, McLaren raised the shoulders of expectations by locking the first row; poleter Oscar Piastri was 0.3 s faster than the third Max Verstappen.

Hamilton made known his opinions on the subject after the qualifications and, like the other drivers, he considered that the overall balance was marginally compromised with the front wing more rigid, but also thought that the minimum effect made the development of new wings unnecessary.

“The balance is certainly not as pleasant as we had before,” said Hamilton. “But that didn’t make (difference) – what a waste of money. It’s just wasted everyone’s money.

“He has literally changed anything. The wings of everyone always look. It’s just half of the bending. And everyone had to make new wings and spend more money to make them. It doesn’t make sense. But that’s what he is, and we continue.”

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo of: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“I led him on the simulator and that’s about the same.

Hamilton Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc Okay, although it can feel a slight difference in high -speed conditions, the teams largely discussed changes with the configuration.

As such, the Monegasque suggested that the changes simply meant that the teams rely less on the front wings to induce the more stable balance and moved this elsewhere on the car.

“Yes (it’s noticeable), especially at high speed. It’s a little more difficult to drive, but that’s not something I don’t like,” said Leclerc.

Spanish GP photos – Saturday

“Not really (a lot of difference) because you can achieve it in different ways. Mechanically, everyone has something to achieve one way or another.

“So, I think we all went in this direction, while before the front wing does the work a little more. On our side, that hasn’t changed much.”