Red Bull is keeping a "very close eye" on McLaren's bendy wings.
As the Melbourne weekend began, pundits' forecasts rang true—McLaren leads the pack while Red Bull grapples to keep up.
Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko this week called it "insane" that the FIA won't fully tighten front wing flexibility rules until the Spanish GP in June.
Yet excessive rear wing bending—like McLaren's clever 'mini DRS' trick from 2024—has been outlawed immediately. To enforce this, 50-gram, ultra-HD FIA cameras are now fitted to cars in Melbourne to track flexing at speed.
Teams have been warned that if footage reveals a gap exceeding 2mm, an FIA reprimand could follow. "However, disqualification is not possible," reported Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
"FIA sources say that if there are too many violations, the rules could be tightened at short notice, similar to those for the front wing," correspondent Michael Schmidt noted.
"Otherwise, the evaluations will be used to refine the rules for the 2026 season."
When asked if he suspects pacesetter McLaren is already pushing the limits in Australia, Marko told Kleine Zeitung newspaper: "We will definitely keep a very close eye on it."
Lingering friction between the teams persists, fuelled by fresh rumours that Lando Norris could be in Red Bull's sights for 2026 if Max Verstappen opts to leave.
Marko cheekily suggested that Norris might not even be McLaren's top pick anymore.
"After (Oscar) Piastri's long-term contract extension, I would say McLaren is banking on him," said the Austrian.
Verstappen, meanwhile, smirked when quizzed about McLaren CEO Zak Brown's recent call to his management to "explore the market".
"When he knew how much he had to pay, it was immediately over," the Dutchman told Viaplay.
"I am really not concerned with speculation," Verstappen added. "I am entering my eleventh season, so I am not wasting my energy on that.
"I am in a good place here and I am doing my best. Of course we want to go a bit faster, but everyone wants that as well."
In other news, the FIA decided in Melbourne that driver-team radio chatter will be exempt from the 2025 'swearing ban'. body check tags ::
