Oscar Piastri defends McLaren over rear-wing flex ahead of F1's Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE (AP) — Oscar Piastri says he's happy with the apparent flexible rear wing on his race-winning car but it's not a “magic bullet” making McLaren the team to beat in Formula 1 ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Widely-shared footage from Piastri's win last week in Azerbaijan appears to show part of the rear wing flexing under the airflow at high speed, in a way that could potentially reduce drag and allow the car to go faster.

“It’s legal," Piastri said of the wing Thursday. "We get tested a lot and it passes. It’s certainly not the magic ticket or magic bullet for why we’re competitive, but it’s legal. It passes all the tests, so I’m pretty happy with it.”

Piastri added the wing isn't in a “grey area” in the F1 rules, which generally ban moving aerodynamic devices, with the exception of the overtake-assisting DRS rear wing flap that all cars have.

“I honestly didn’t even know that it did that until three days ago," Piastri said. "Obviously in the sport you find every bit of performance that you can without breaking the rules. I feel like that’s what we’re doing, and that’s what you need to do to become a championship-winning car and a championship-winning team.”

Piastri argued that on-form teams like McLaren — which overtook Red Bull in the constructors' standings last week — inevitably attract more attention. Various teams have faced questions in the past over elements of their front and rear wings.

“There’s going to be scrutiny of people curious to know why your car is competitive so I certainly don’t think it’s personal to us,” Piastri said.

Standings leader Max Verstappen called for the FIA to issue a “clarification” of how the rules work in practice and how much wings can bend.

“It’s quite clear that it’s moving at speed. It might be smart, might not be smart, but at the end of the day, it’s up to the FIA to decide if it’s legal or not, right?” Verstappen said.

In a statement, the governing body said: “The FIA is closely monitoring the flexibility of bodywork on all cars and reserves the right to request teams to make modifications at any point during the season.

“However, if a team successfully passes all deflection tests and adheres to the regulations and technical directives, they are deemed to be in full compliance, and no further action will be taken.”

The FIA added that it is reviewing data and other evidence “and is considering any mitigating measures for future implementation.” It noted it has the authority to make “regulatory changes” mid-season if needed.

Piastri is fourth in the standings, 91 points off Verstappen and 32 behind teammate Lando Norris of Britain, who is Verstappen's closest challenger. A race win is worth 25 points.

Piastri closed the gap with his win in Baku, where his teammate recovered to fourth after qualifying a long way back, but the Australian said he'll still be expected by McLaren to help out Norris.

“If I’m in a position to still win races, then that’s what I want to do and I think I showed in Baku that I’m capable of doing that,” he said. “But naturally if there’s times where I can help out for Lando’s championship bid then I’ll be happy to help out as well.”

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The Associated Press