Ferrari's Boss calls McLaren's Baku wing 'Illegal'

The technical controversy surrounding McLaren's innovative rear wing design has intensified, with Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur explicitly challenging its legality following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix breakthrough performance.

McLaren's wing under scrutiny

The spotlight fell on McLaren's 'mini-DRS' system after onboard footage from Oscar Piastri's MCL38 revealed the wing's slot gap widening notably along Baku's high-speed straights.

Despite the component passing all mandatory FIA static load tests, subsequent investigation prompted McLaren to implement modifications across their entire rear wing range.

Ferrari's strong stance

Vasseur has taken an unequivocal position on the matter, telling Sky Italy that McLaren's design was "not legal."

The Ferrari boss emphasized the black-and-white nature of the technical regulations, stating:

"In the Article you have also a maximum deflection and this is black or white. It's no grey, no dark grey, no light grey. It's black and white and for me, it's clear."

FIA intervention

FIA Single-Seater Technical Head Nikolas Tombazis disclosed that multiple teams were required to make adjustments following a technical directive issued after Singapore.

"We issued after Singapore some communication about rear wings, saying what we would consider acceptable or not acceptable, and two or three teams had to make some small tweaks to adjust to that,"

Tombazis explained to Motorsport.com.

McLaren's response

McLaren has maintained a proactive stance throughout the controversy. A team spokesperson clarified their position:

"McLaren proactively offered to make some minor adjustments to our rear wing following the Azerbaijan GP. We have made minor adjustments to all our rear wings since Baku to varying extents to ensure no further issues in this area."