Lewis Hamilton clueless over Spanish GP rule change as rivals all say same thing
The arrival of the Spanish Grand Prix sees a new FIA technical directive come into force which McLaren's rivals hope will slow down the runaway F1 championship leaders
Formula 1 drivers do not believe the rule changes coming into force at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix will have a dramatic impact on the balance of power on the grid. That's despite earlier hopes up and down the grid that it might curb the performance advantage that has been enjoyed by McLaren.
The Woking-based squad is 172 points clear at the top of the championship, having won six of the eight Grands Prix held so far. But some of their rivals have spent a lot of time in recent weeks accusing them of potentially illegal tricks to gain performance.
One of the suggestions is that McLaren have been running wings on their cars which may be more flexible than the rules would allow. Their cars have passed all static FIA tests but that has not quietened the noise.
The governing body has acted on the complaints in the form of a technical directive which comes into force this weekend at the Barcelona race. It means cars will have to comply with more strict tests which will force teams to make front wings more rigid.
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Some have suggested that it could have a significant impact on some teams. That includes Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur who said in Monaco last weekend that it could be "a game-changer".
He said: "We are working on it for ages now. This can be a game-changed for everybody because we don't know the impact on every single team of the new regulation. We will be focused on this to have better exploitation of the front wing."
But, asked about it in Barcelona on Thursday, several top drivers all made it clear they don't expect any dramatic performance swings. "There's little tweaks here and there, but nothing that will change how we have to do anything," said Lando Norris, confident he will still have a mighty McLaren to drive.
Carlos Sainz concurred, the Williams driver adding: "I wouldn't expect more than a one tenth [of a second] swing up or down through the field for each team, depending on how much you were flexing or not. I don't think there's going to be a lot in it."
And Max Verstappen, who would love to see McLaren hampered as he hunts a fifth-straight F1 drivers' title with Red Bull, said: "I think all of the teams will be a little bit impacted, probably some more than others, but it's not going to change the world."
As for Ferrari racer Lewis Hamilton, the Brit was not even willing to offer a guess. He said: "I have no idea. Honestly, I have no idea what the directive is going to do. I couldn't guess. I've just been training and trying to get ready for this weekend, nothing special."
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