F1 News: FIA To Cover The Wheels Entirely In An Extreme Solution For The Next Spray Guard Test

After a failed first trial of the spray guard test at Silverstone, the FIA would be opting for a more aggressive measure in the next spray test which would see the car's wheel get covered completely.

The governing body's single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis revealed that a radical step would be required to deal with the spray problem. From the data obtained at Silverstone, the next test would be conducted with a different design. He told Motorsport.com:

"What was done at Silverstone, with the help of Mercedes who created parts and McLaren [who ran a car to get feedback on spray] was perhaps too optimistic an experiment.

"The spray guards covered too little of the wheel. I was quite sceptical and imagined that we wouldn't see important results.

"In the next tests we will carry out, we will test complete coverage of the wheel, going even beyond what would be needed to understand what the threshold is at which the spray forms. Then we will decide which path to take.”

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He goes on to explain the complicated process involved in the search for a perfect design that could mitigate the spray problem. After all, the spray is thrown into the air from different surfaces. He added:

"The first is from the water that is extracted from the tyres and shot upwards.

"A second effect derives from the accumulation of water between the wheel and the asphalt in the tyre squirt area (between the wheel and floor edge), which is sucked into the diffuser.

"The third effect is given by the water that stagnates in the cracks in the ground and, under the pressure of the diffuser, is sucked up and expelled.

"We believe that the spray coming from the wheels corresponds to approximately 40% of the total.

"If we were able to limit this phenomenon, it is clear that the drivers would not have complete visibility, but there would be a significant improvement.”

Tombazis also revealed that the FIA turned toward the road car industry to figure out the tool it has been using to simulate wet weather driving conditions from a safety point of view. He said:

“We have done some simulations and there are tools that are often used in the production car industry (for example checking visibility for rear view mirrors), but these tools must be calibrated well to have a good correlation.

"The car manufacturers carry out very extensive calibration and, as they do not have testing restrictions and do not have to deal with an FIA which imposes constraints, they can act freely.

"We do not have the possibility to carry out frequent tests, so with limited activities it is not easy to find the right calibrations.”

However, the director revealed a major problem that could come in the way of using a bigger wheel cover- aerodynamics. The FIA is working on a solution with this important factor in mind. But, any impact the new device would have on the front, would affect all teams on the grid. The best approach then, would be to have something that can be used during wet races only. He explained:

“The [downforce] deterioration can vary greatly.

"In some configurations we tried it was almost zero, while in the most extreme solutions we tested in a tunnel we saw a loss of up to 80 points, which can be worth two or three seconds in lap time.

"But honestly, we don't really care about the performance threshold, although the teams are definitely watching it. In the Silverstone test, the solution tested had the lowest possible aerodynamic impact.

"It would take a lot of work from the teams. Ideally, we would like to intervene with a solution that is put on and taken off only when there is a wet monsoon, which is perhaps once or twice a year.

"We prefer not to have to touch the machines. Other ideas may possibly be developed for the 2026 regulations.”