May 30,2025 Oscar Piastri drives around the Barcelona circuit during the free practice of Spanish GP. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

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F1 Explained- What is the New Technical Directive for Spanish GP?

Read more about the changes in car for the Spanish GP weekend

May 30,2025 Oscar Piastri drives around the Barcelona circuit during the free practice of Spanish GP. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

The Spanish Grand Prix is one of the best races for the teams every season. The race is a proving ground for their cars after racking laps around the track during testing. Barcelona is an important part of Formula 1 testing. During the race weekend, drivers and teams push for upgrades at this much familiar track.

Ahead of the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, Formula 1 has new technical regulations for the teams. This is in response to the complaints about the teams using a flexible front and rear wing during races. There was a lot of outcry from teams about the unfair advantage of these flexible wings. With these directives, Formula 1 aims to curb down the advantages and eliminate the “mini-DRS effect”.

Upgrades up and down the grid this weekend! 🔧#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/sRoDXXXmMn
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 30, 2025

The new rules are a staight jibe at McLaren. The Papaya cars will be hit by a huge disadvantage during the weekend because of the new front wing. Formula 1 has been pushing to curb down on the unfair advantages over the season and Spanish GP is the next step.

Spanish GP Wing Regulations

Formula 1 already had strict regulations in place for the Japanese Grand Prix. They wanted to stop the flex in wings of cars during races. These wings create the mini-DRS effect helping cars gain additional speed in non-DRS zones. Tbe front wing and rear wing structure is being made more rigid by Formula 1.

How will the new technical directive affect teams’ performance in Spain:

— From the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, the FIA will enforce revised flexi-wing regulations under TD018 to reduce excessive wing bending under aerodynamic load. These changes target teams exploiting flexible… pic.twitter.com/0Q6HW6K7Ed
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) May 29, 2025

The Article 3.15.4 and 3.15.5 which govern the front wing design in 2025 regulations is modified for the Spanish GP.

According to the new directive,

“From the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, when the load is applied symmetrically to both sides of the car, the vertical deflection must be no more than 10mm, and when applied to only one side of the car, the vertical deflection must be no more than 15mm. In terms of ‘Front Wing Flap Flexibility’, the regulations originally stated that “any part of the trailing edge of any front wing flap may deflect no more than 5mm, when measured along the loading axis, when a 6kg point load is applied normal to the flap”, but from this weekend the amount of permitted deflection drops to 3mm.”

Formula 1 will also keep a strict check on the teams during the weekend. There will be multiple tests in parc ferme before or after sessions. Teams should expect a heavy penalty over the weekend for breach of rules.

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Formula 1 2025 Season

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Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.