FIA Bans Vertical Wings

[F1 Today]

It’s official that the vertical wings that the BMW team have been competing with in the French GP have been banned by the FIA. The reason for the ban was that the fins obstructed the view of the driver.

Personally, I liked the wings because although the wings were horrible to look at, they did make the car look unique.

[Carlis]

This is a very strange decision from the FIA.

In 2000, if I recall correctly, during the Monaco GP Weekend they banned the "pre-nose wing" of the (Jordan? Arrows?) because it *might interfeer with the driver's vision range*. It was banned during the same weekend it did its debut. It was not tested before, it just "appeared" all of a sudden on Thursday morning.

Now, we have that the FIA takes the same decision, but 20 days after it was "presented into society" for the first time during the test before the French GP. For some reason, the FIA waited for the team to tested them, to use them in the race, to receive additional data, to test them again and to start building evolutions around those "winglets" before saying: "Hey... it might interfere with your vision..." Not that I believe in conspiracy theories inside the F1, but it looks to me like the FIA might have been "pushed" by "someone" who might not be interested in being beated by BMW by the end of the season...

[JoStream]

I agree, it is very odd. It's also disturbing that anything can be banned on basis of "safety". Of course this is a valid pretext, but people involved in the decision making process about issues like these should ensure that the issue at hand really fits the frame of reference.

Does it really block your view? I highly doubt it. Sure it impairs it somewhat, but to the extent that you could crash? I don't think so :roll:

[carlramskill]

I agree, it is very odd. It's also disturbing that anything can be banned on basis of "safety".

I agree Jo. I've been saying that airships should still be filled with hydrogen instead of helium. So what if they exploderise?

Oh wait, hang on. I've just realised that the sentence above is one of the stupidest things you've ever said in the two weeks we've known eachother. You want people to risk death so that the car looks pretty? You'd be singing a different tune if you were the driver with potential blind spots on the track.

[JoStream]

Carlramskill, you should read what I wrote more carefully.

I said that it should not become practice to simply ban things that don't seem "convenient" to certain powerful players in F1 politics on the basis of "safety".


You want people to risk death so that the car looks pretty?

I don't know where you got that from but I certainly didn't say that. In fact, I think many of us agree that these new wings are far from making a car look sexy.

Would I be singing a different tune? If it really impaired what I can see on track, why didn't Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve say something? Do you really think BMW would risk the lives of their drivers? Do you realize what damage it would do to the brand itself, on a global scale?

My point is that a thorough investigation should be completed and made public as to the reasons for the ban. Not just "Oh sorry, we're banning it, cause...ehm...yea, safety" :evil:

[carlramskill]

I should never have taken you on. I'm sorry.

[Carlis]

But Jo, that is assumming that, indeed, there was an investigation and that, indeeed, the FIA did conclude that it was *dangerous* for the drivers...

If such an investigation took place, then the FIA should be charged by negligence (spelling?) because they did allow BMW to use that wing during the race at Magny-Cours. If it was dangerous, the FIA is guilty for not doing anything about it when it appears... (and to conclude that it blocks your sight, I bet, you don't need more than a few seconds inside the cockpit to see what happens with those wings...)

As I said before, I don't think it was a safety issue, but rather a political move initiated by, I don't know, let's say... Honda? (BMW is closing the gap... fast... and the japs doesn't seem to have a way to react).

The *key* point here is that BMW spent their final test before the *summer break* looking for solutions to improve their performance with those wings; but with the FIA *clarification*, BMW is now as they were before the Canadian GP and, even worst, they have no chance to test anything at all until the Turkish GP is done... All of a sudden, almost three weeks after the wings were introduced in the test after the USGP, the FIA realizes that they are *dangerous*? I don't think so...

[carlramskill]

Surely the FIA would have known if they were dangerous or not before they were introduced to the cars?

[Carlis]

Yes. Every team submitts to the FIA the blueprints of EVERY SINGLE THING they put on the cars, and if the technical/safety comission of the FIA sees something strange then they tell them to stop... not to go ahead.

This move is *almost* as disturbing as the mass damper banning... and again, who is the winner of that *particular* move? Honda... They not only stop the guys behind them... now they have also closed the gap to the front!

[carlramskill]

If I were one of the team directors, I would tell the FIA to get stuffed.

Or give a million squillion pound as compensation.