Chinese GP to be unaffected by freight delay

Despite four teams suffering freight delays, this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix will go as scheduled with rear wings under the microscope.

The likes of McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Aston Martin, plus tyre supplier Pirelli have experienced freight delays as the F1 circus heads from Melbourne to Shanghai in just a handful of days.

The four teams cargo did not arrive until late Wednesday afternoon until late Wednesday after it was delayed by more than eight hours.

As a result, the five and a half hour window that is given to teams to work on their cars on set-up day has been extended.

Despite the delays, there are no suggestions opening practice at 14.30 AEDT Friday afternoon will be impacted.

All the talk leading into the second round of the season will surround rear wings.

The FIA have taken the unusual step of staging a new and “tougher” rear wing deflection test.

After analysing Australian Grand Prix practice footage, the FIA has concluded there were sufficient grounds for a “tougher test” on the upper rear wing at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Whilst all cars were deemed legal in Australia, the test will be examining if ‘mini-DRS’ tricks have been at play.

It comes with deflection tests to examine the use of “flexi front wings” will also take place after the ninth race of the year, the Spanish Grand Prix.

The FIA announced the step with the following statement.

“As has been previously communicated, between the end of the 2024 season and the start of the 2025 season, the FIA exercised the authority it is granted under Article 3.15.1 of the Technical Regulations to introduce either new or more challenging load-deflection tests for the front wing (from Race 9, Spanish Grand Prix), the upper rear wing, and the beam rear wing.

“In addition, the FIA requested to the teams to use cameras in Free Practice Sessions to monitor the on-track deformations exhibited by the cars during the Australian Grand Prix.

“Having analysed footage from the rear wing deformations combined to the static deflections measured inside the FIA garage in Melbourne, the FIA has concluded that sufficient grounds exist for a tougher test to be introduced from the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix on the upper rear wing.

“More specifically, Article 3.15.17, introduced in 2025, states that if 75kg of vertical load is applied on either extremity of the rear wing mainplane, the distance between the mainplane and the flap (also known as “slot gap”) must not vary by more than 2mm.

“From the forthcoming Grand Prix in Shanghai, this limit will be reduced to 0.5mm. Due to the short notice for Shanghai only a tolerance of 0.25mm will be added to this new limit. The Teams were informed of this revised test early Monday 17th of March.

“The FIA wishes to further confirm that during the Melbourne event all cars tested against the requirements of Article 3.15.17 and found to comply, therefore all cars raced in Melbourne were deemed to be legal.”

Image: Peter Norton Epic Sports Photography

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