Red Bull opposes wing rules due to power deficit

Red Bull reportedly made a last-minute attempt to have the moveable rear wing rules changed ahead of the 2011 season opener.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat claimed that the reigning champions wanted the wing banned for practice and qualifying sessions, but not all the other teams agreed.

"Letting us use it on all the straights, on all the laps, makes no sense," O Estado de S.Paulo quotes Mark Webber as saying.

The Finnish report hypothesised that the reason for Red Bull’s stance is due to the team believing that the constant deployment of the wings will only exacerbate its existing straightline speed deficit to major rivals including Ferrari and Mercedes.

"The (wing rules) has been discussed and approved at the FOTA level as well as the FIA level," an unnamed source confirmed.

"One team wants it to be different because their straight line speed is not as good as its competitors," the source added.

For safety reasons, the FIA has however decided to ban the use of the adjustable wing in practice and qualifying sessions when cars are using wet tyres.