Karun Chandhok says Mercedes footage at Belgian GP will ‘catch the attention’ of F1 rivals

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Mercedes have introduced a series of upgrades onto their car at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend. The Silver Arrows are gunning for a third victory of the season at Spa.

They’ve made improvements to the beam wing, floor edge and diffuser. George Russell was seen running a unique test with thread-like instruments on the halo, which has also been tweaked.

Mercedes won back-to-back races in Austria and Great Britain but lacked pace relative to McLaren at the Hungaroring. Lewis Hamilton managed to extend their podium streak to five races as his former team took a one-two.

Hamilton had to fend off furious competition from Max Verstappen, who had the benefit of fresher tyres in both the second and third stints. He put up a stout defence and then survived late contact when Verstappen attempted a lunge down the inside.

Russell, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from his poorest weekend of the year. He suffered a shock Q1 exit after a strategic blunder, and was only able to recover to eighth.

Mercedes were the third-fastest team at Spa last year, with Hamilton fourth and Russell sixth. Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two, while Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari.

Karun Chandhok spots Mercedes front wing flexing at Belgian Grand Prix

In the early stages of FP1, slow-motion replays showed the front wings of both Mercedes cars moving considerably as they navigated the bus stop chicane. Flexible bodywork is outlawed under the regulations.

Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok says this has been a ‘massive’ topic in the paddock of late. As such, rival teams are bound to raise the footage with the FIA.

It was a tough start to the weekend for Toto Wolff’s squad. While both cars finished in the top five, they were nearly a second adrift of pacesetter Verstappen.

They were even outpaced by Alex Albon in the Williams. The Grove outfit are one of their customer teams, along with McLaren and Aston Martin.

“Look at the movement on the front wing there,” Chandhok said as he watched the footage. “That’ll catch the attention of lots of other teams up and down the pitlane, as well as the FIA. Flexing the bodywork is a massive talking point.”

Martin Brundle says FIA investigation could ‘scramble the pack’

The FIA ran tests in FP1 to examine the front wings of various teams. The top four all had to run cameras on their cars, as did Haas (in the case of Nico Hulkenberg) and Aston Martin.

The sport’s governing body wanted to see how much the wings were moving, if at all. Once they’ve gathered the information, they’ll decide on a course of action.

Martin Brundle thinks the investigation could ‘scramble the pack’ if the FIA change the rules in the summer break. Some are bound to be benefitting more than others.

Red Bull have already reported McLaren for a hole in their brake covers. The rulemakers ordered Andrea Stella’s team to cover it, even though they protested that there was no benefit.