Flex changes split ’25 into two-part F1 season

The 2025 Formula 1 season may mark the final year of the current regulations, but teams are already bracing for a crucial mid-season shift that could reshape the championship.

Reigning constructors’ champions McLaren, at the centre of last year’s flexible wing controversies, insists that new FIA regulations enforcing stricter flex tests are not a “headache.”

From the opening race, tougher tests on rear wings will come into effect, while front wings will face even harsher restrictions starting from round nine in Barcelona in June.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur explained that this regulatory shift is why the front wing and nose of the newly unveiled SF-25 remain largely unchanged compared to last season.

“If the rules are changing (in Barcelona), it makes sense to combine this with a development of the wing,” he said.

Vasseur welcomed the early clarity on the mid-season rule enforcement, explaining to DAZN: “For me, it’s not a problem—it’s good to have clarity.

“We can discuss the calendar, as the regulations will come into force the week after Monaco, but in the end, I think it’s a fair measure.

The worst scenario would have been to start the season and, after two races, receive a technical directive forcing us to change,” he added.

“That would have been much more difficult to manage, but today we all know what we will have to do.”

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso believes the mid-season Barcelona front wing changes will redefine how teams approach the season, turning 2025 into a two-phase campaign.

“I feel that the Bahrain test and the first races are going to be less relevant than usual,” said the two-time world champion.

“Before, it seemed that starting the year well already guaranteed you continuity, but in these last two years we have seen radical improvements at McLaren in 2023, Mercedes last year, even Haas.

If the team hits the nail on the head in race nine, the season is so long that there is still a lot to sort out by race 24,” the 43-year-old added.

“So I’m taking it a bit more calmly about how to approach the pre-season. A good year for us means at least matching what we did last year. We were fifth in the constructors’ championship, but I don’t think we were the fifth fastest at the end of the year.”