The Spanish GP weekend is officially underway and the to and fro between Red Bull and its rivals is still going strong. It all started with the Austrian outfit placing an unofficial complaint to the FIA about Mercedes‘ alleged use of flexi-wings. Then the reports claimed RBR has gone on to put up complaints against McLaren and Ferrari for using such wings as well. Now, Helmut Marko has put the Silver Arrows under his scrutiny by declaring how he will catch them if they are using the flexi-wings.

Mercedes has lagged behind its heavyweight rival teams ever since the start of the 2024 season. However, the team found great pace at the Canadian GP with their newly introduced front wings. But Red Bull believes those wings have a flexible component that goes past the permissible limit that the FIA has set for Formula 1. Hence, the Chief Advisor to the Milton-Keynes outfit, Helmut Marko, has talked about addressing the team’s use of illegal wings. What did the octagenarian comment while warning Mercedes about his watchful eyes?

Helmut Marko’s new Spanish GP task concerns Mercedes

Helmut Marko spoke out with regard to his team’s issues with Mercedes. The Austrian discussed the use of flexi-wings despite FIA banning them. He said, “I have a new task for myself this weekend. I will watch Mercedes more closely. The flexing front wing is an important issue. I have to make sure everything goes according to the rule book.” As one of the authoritative figures at Red Bull, Helmut Marko is concerned with its rival teams too. This is because, if they use some illegal tactics to win over Marko’s team, then the chances of Red Bull getting the World Championship will decrease.

Thus, Helmut Marko has vowed to keep a watchful eye on every race where the Mercedes W15s go out on the track. He will need to gather proof, perhaps by taking pictures and videos. If his evidence indeed shows that the Silver Arrows are using the flexi-wings, then Red Bull can approach the FIA officially and ask for justice. Now, the question that might arise in everyone’s mind is why the flexi-wings were outlawed by the rule-makers of Formula 1 in the first place.

FIA has put its foot down on “aerodynamic advantage”

The legal aspect of using flexible front wings has been a topic of discussion in the F1 town of late. This is because the Red Bull personnel had first noticed their alleged use in the Mercedes W15s in Montreal. Almost a year ago, the FIA made the rule which states, “All aerodynamic components or bodywork influencing the car’s aerodynamic performance must be rigidly secured and immobile.”

The flexible wings can give any racecar the ability to show amped-up aerodynamic performance. This advantage would be unfair to all the rival cars. Thus, the FIA clamped down on the use of such wings in their directive back in 2023. Going by this, if Mercedes is using it now to enjoy some speed as compared to the rest of the teams’ cars, the Stuttgart outfit will be penalized in the end.

The Red Bull versus Mercedes saga this year might have just started off because of the flexi-wing issue. But this is not the first time that the two forces have locked horns. One of the biggest events where they went head-to-head was at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where Max Verstappen had challenged Lewis Hamilton for his maiden World Championship. At that time, an erroneous decision by FIA race director Michael Massi had made Verstappen win over Lewis. Do you think the relationship between Red Bull and Mercedes has soured ever since that incident? Let us know in the comments below.