Shark fins still at the heart of the debate

Since April and a meeting of the Strategic Group and the Commission F1, the aerodynamic elements introduced this season, such as the T-Wing or the shark fin on the engine hood, saw their future largely uncertain.

The FIA ​​indicated at that time that the design would be “strictly limited” for the next season. To date, the 2018 technical regulations available on the FIA ​​website precisely define in its section 3.5.1, the current shark fin area as having to be free.

Yesterday at a press conference, Christian Horner, director of Red Bull Racing, however admitted that discussions had taken place to try to retain the element covering the engine hood. « A month ago we had a meeting and we all agreed that we were going to keep the shark fin as it was and put the number on it, Horner comments.

Then, as usual, we left the meeting and things changed and Zak (Brown, executive director of McLaren) said he couldn't see his rear wing. He's obviously signed a major sponsor for next year and he's trying to get as much space as possible.

The problem is that the aerodynamicists then looked at that and said, “That disrupts the rear wing, so we don’t want that.” So, I'm not entirely sure, as we sit here, where we are.

I think it comes down to what's in the rules, i.e. no fin, and so we need to figure out where to place the number. Maybe we'll have another conversation and see if we can persuade Zak this weekend to put the shark fin back on. »

Zak Brown, also interviewed at a press conference on the subject, gave his point of view on the matter. « Well, the rear wing is the place with a lot of value on the car. With the spoiler on the current engine cover, this “blocks” the rear spoiler.

I've only been attending strategy group meetings for a year...we don't think enough from a business perspective about the technical regulations that are being discussed. If you look at today's car, the front fins are no longer commercially viable.

We have sidepods and aerodynamic devices that block the side of the chassis and now we have this big spoiler on the engine cover that blocks the rear wing, so it was really more about freeing up commercial space on the road. car »