chrisc90 wrote: ↑23 Jun 2024, 13:15
But it all depends how and where the other wings are flexing doesn’t it.
Are you saying that McLaren for example, should be allowed more flex because they have a higher loaded wing?
The principle is the same.
No, I am saying that physically-speaking, the McLaren wing will flex more because it has more "room for movement". You're not really "allowing" anything to anyone. If the wing passes the current bend tests by the FIA (and it seems they're happy with it), then this type of wing will flex more than the RedBull wing due to physics. Assuming even materials and whatnot.
chrisc90 wrote: ↑23 Jun 2024, 13:15
High load wing becomes a medium load wing under flex
Medium load wing becomes a low load wing under flex.
There could be more to RB’s concern than the upper wing element flexing.
Yes actually, that is the main idea behind having flexing front wing elements. And it's not like RedBull somehow missed this idea when designing the car. In fact RedBull used it extensively in the previous regulation set.
But they have purposefully designed the car (since 2022) with a low-load front wing taken into consideration. And props to them, it's actually impressive. When you utilize "gimmicks" like flexing elements, you're always gonna give up (some) consistency because it is something that changes by a variable amount depending on conditions (wind speed, air density, turbulence etc ...). Which means you won't get the "ideal" conditions you see in the wind tunnel 100% of the time. Nevertheless, the tradeoff works out in this particular case.
As I mentioned, this is something that RedBull had no issue with before. Designing cars this way is perhaps one of the reasons why their car has been so consistent race-pace wise in this regulation set. But now that gaps are getting tight, they tried to take some of the competitor's advantage away by complaining to the FIA. It's what teams do all the time to be fair, nothing against RedBull.
My point in all of this discussion is, just because FIA "cleared" the competitors, doesn't mean there's some sort of low hanging fruit for RedBull to exploit in this area. This is an idea which they undoubtedly know how to exploit, however the design philosophy of their car does not allow them to easily take advantage of it as much as it does to competitors.