After the uproar about the return of shark fins and the introduction of T-wings in 2017, the FIA is expected to listen to the fans and bring in a ban on them for next season.
Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting believes that the backlash the aerodynamic devices have had means that the regulations are likely to be rewritten ahead of the 2018 season in order to please the fans and Ross Brawn, Formula 1’s new Managing Director of Motorsport, who has also been critical of them.
Teams have reverted to the shark fins and T-Wings to help with airflow as it goes to the rear wing, but Whiting believes that they will be out of the sport at the end of this season.
“Next year, I think there is quite a good chance that that [ban] will be done because quite a few people feel that they are a bit of an unsightly thing,” said Whiting.
“I personally don’t have anything against them, but it was something that was always going to be possible. I think the reaction of everybody probably wasn’t expected.”
Formula 1 teams are also set to be subject to checks from the FIA during this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix in order to ensure the T-wings pass flexibility checks, with pictures during testing seeming to indicate them bending due to the excessive loads being put on them.
