F1’s governing body has stepped up its offensive against illegal floor bodywork, according to reports.
The specialist publication Auto Motor und Sport said the FIA’s Charlie Whiting has now informed all teams that tests to ensure the rigidity of cars’ underbodies will be even stricter at the Spanish grand prix next month.
The saga first hit the headlines after the Australian grand prix, when teams including Ferrari and BMW-Sauber were accused of deliberately circumventing the rules to obtain a performance advantage.
The FIA’s subsequent clarification affected the design of most formula one teams’ floors, sources said.
But Auto Motor und Sport contends that Ferrari and BMW’s original floor designs passed even the stricter test; motivating the FIA to now quadruple the amount of load applied for the new Barcelona tests.
Toyota’s Pascal Vasselon suggests that the move may force some teams to totally re-think their underbody setups, because too stiff a floor is likely to break over the kerbs.
“Many teams will have to raise their cars quite a lot,” he said, “but (raising a car by) only a millimetre can mean two per cent less downforce.”
