‘Everybody jumped in’… F1 teams slammed for ‘disrespectful’ comments about McLaren

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McLaren was engulfed in controversy when they turned up to the Singapore Grand Prix weekend owing to a part spotted on the MCL36 in Azerbaijan.

Replays of Oscar Piastri’s onboard camera showing the rear of his car depicted a unique rear wing design that helped in his defence against Charles Leclerc.

The design was dubbed ‘Mini DRS’ and showed how the upper flip of the wing pivoted a few millimetres upwards whenever Piastri entered the straight, enabling him to dump some of the drag and create a small DRS effect.

Red Bull and Ferrari subsequently protested the wing upon seeing the footage, despite McLaren claiming it was legal because it passed all of the FIA deflection tests.

Questions over the legality of the wing received a mixed reception from those in the F1 paddock, with some congratulating the team for finding a loophole while others maintained it was not in the spirit of the regulations.

Speaking on The Race F1 Tech podcast, F1 technical expert Gary Anderson explained why it was disrespectful of other teams to make the comments directed at McLaren.

McLaren rivals ‘disrespectful’ to question car legality

The FIA conducted an investigation into McLaren’s rear wing on the Friday of the Singapore GP and subsequently ruled that it did not conform to the Technical Directive issued to teams regarding flexible wings.

Flexible wings have been the subject of a lot of scrutiny this season after teams have been pushing the limits, with the FIA having to introduce extra deflection tests for front wings after concerns raised by teams.

In the case of rear wings, all teams agreed that under the Technical Directive, there is not allowed to be any degree of deflection and must be static. The FIA agreed not to disqualify McLaren as they felt it would have been inappropriate given it passed all the relevant safety tests, however, Anderson felt it did not gain them much in the way of lap time.

“The gain from that rear wing that we saw which as people called it, sort of a secondary DRS, would be so small it would just get lost in the grey area of doing a lap time. But that was the big thing about it. Everybody jumped in there, that’s why it’s happening,” said Anderson.

“I think that’s disrespectful to a team that’s worked so hard to build themselves a competitive car. By going off to Singapore, it was a completely different wing assembly, a completely different track situation, which is not a high-speed, long, straight track.”

McLaren Mini DRS only ‘relevant’ at one more circuit on 2024 calendar

It is likely that McLaren’s Mini DRS rear wing would have only benefited them at one more circuit on the calendar, given the mix of medium-to-low downforce circuits upcoming.

Las Vegas is known for having one of the longest straights on the calendar, with the circuit playing host to its second race this season following its debut last year.

READ MORE: McLaren ready to ‘unleash’ package as Red Bull ready to ‘hit back’ with upgrades

McLaren’s Mini DRS rear wing would have reportedly only worked at Las Vegas, while the rest would have seen them revert to an older design anyway.

It just goes to show some of the bespoke innovations being made by F1’s benchmark team behind the scenes, as they try to win their first Constructors’ Championship since the 1998 season.