
Gary Anderson criticizes the FIA
In 2025, the FIA suddenly decided to tighten the requirements for the flexibility of the anti-wings, although previously promised not to do so. But in January, the Federation notified the championship teams that already in Australia rear wings will be checked in accordance with the new, more stringent requirements, and at the Spanish Grand Prix these requirements will apply to the front wings.
Gary Anderson, a former designer of racing cars, and now an expert of the publication The Race, believes that the FIA changed the methodology of tests too late. Flexible front wings became a constant topic of discussion in Formula 1 after Red Bull sent FIA claims against McLaren, although in the end no violations were not revealed. But the FIA still decided to introduce stricter requirements for the rear wings, which will come into force at the beginning of the championship, while to make changes in the design of the front wings of the team should be by the ninth stage of the season. Consequently, by this time behind will be a third of the championship, and the remaining races teams will hold already in accordance with the new requirements. Anderson believes that all this will greatly affect the course of the championship, and what is happening reminds him of what we saw in the season of 2009, when the so-called "double diffuser". At the beginning of that season, this solution was used by three teams - Brawn, Williams and Toyota. When the others were able to copy it and create their own versions, Jenson Button was already far ahead. In the second half of the season, the struggle intensified, but the success of Brawn in the first half of the year allowed the team to win in both standings. According to Anderson, the situation in 2025 may develop in a similar scenario. And it is not only in the flexible wings, but in the way they interact with the bottom, with its edges, with the rear wing, so that the balance of the machine remains optimal at any speed. "By early February, most teams have already decided on the characteristics of the machines of 2025, and now their leading engineers and designers are turning their attention to the chassis of 2026, when the regulations on aerodynamics will undergo major changes - writes Anderson. - So, it was assumed that the finalization of the 2025 cars will be entrusted to specialists less experienced. But now all these plans will have to be adjusted". In addition, he does not exclude that the teams will have to develop a completely new front wing and make changes in the design of the bottom, and all this involves very serious costs. It turns out that the Federation puts the teams in an unfavorable position, because the effect of budgetary restrictions no one canceled, and all the costs for one or another need has long been planned. "If I was the technical director, then such changes would make me very angry, - continued Anderson. - Not because I think my front wing is the best, but because it will have to be changed as the season progresses. The FIA document says it aims to level the playing field for all championship competitors and will make for a fair and interesting competition. In fact, it won't level the playing field. We all want the intense rivalry to continue from the first to the last race, but the FIA has simply put a stop to it. I'm not saying that everything will be like that, but the season could turn into two championships: one will consist of the first eight races, and the second - of the remaining sixteen".

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