Oscar Piastri slaps down F1 'magic bullet' claims as Daniel Ricciardo responds to axing reports

Oscar Piastri says the somewhat flexible rear wing on his Azerbaijan race-winning car is completely legal and is not some "magic bullet" that has given McLaren vehicles an 'unfair' advantage. Widely shared footage from the Aussie driver's win last week showed part of Piastri's rear wing flexing under the airflow at high speed, which can in turn reduce drag and therefore result in the car going faster.

The 'mini DRS' (Drag Reduction System) on Piastri’s MCL38 appeared to be a small deflection on the rear wing, giving the Melbournian a pace advantage on the straights. It drew the attention of the F1 community and saw the FIA - the governing body of the sport - look into McLaren's vehicle modification. In a statement on Thursday, the FIA said: "The FIA is closely monitoring the flexibility of bodywork on all cars and reserves the right to request teams to make modifications at any point during the season".

However, speaking to reporters on Thursday, Piastri insisted the modification was completely legal and it wasn't even in a 'grey area' in the F1 rules - which generally ban moving aerodynamic devices, with the exception of the overtake-assisting DRS rear wing flap that all cars have. "It's legal," Piastri said. "We get tested a lot and it passes. It's certainly not the magic ticket or magic bullet for why we're competitive, but it's legal. It passes all the tests, so I'm pretty happy with it."

"I honestly didn't even know that it did that until three days ago. Obviously in the sport you find every bit of performance that you can without breaking the rules. I feel like that's what we're doing, and that's what you need to do to become a championship-winning car and a championship-winning team."

But F1 standings leader Max Verstappen called for the FIA to issue a "clarification" of how the rules work in practice and how much wings can bend moving forward. "It's quite clear that it's moving at speed. It might be smart, might not be smart, but at the end of the day, it's up to the FIA to decide if it's legal or not, right?" Verstappen said. Piastri is fourth in the standings, 91 points off Verstappen and 32 behind teammate Lando Norris - Verstappen's closest challenger.

Daniel Ricciardo responds to imminent axing reports

Daniel Ricciardo says he is unaware of any move to replace him in the short term amid speculation that Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix could be his last race in F1. Asked about rumours he could be dropped by Red Bull-owned Visa Cash App RB in favour of young Kiwi Liam Lawson, the 35-year-old Australian admitted while he is unsure about his future for next year he expects to remain in the seat for the remainder of the 2024 season.

"My first expectation is about next year, so that's where I'm at at the moment," he told reporters on Thursday. "I can't give too many details but in terms of contract our dates pretty much come into this window now, so basically I do expect a yes or a no for '25.

"I'm aware of some talk and speculation about, you know, the rest of the season but that (being replaced) for me at the moment I'm unaware of. So the decision I expect is for next year."

Ricciardo has struggled in 2024, with his results far from what the F1 juggernaut would have hoped for and Sky Sports F1 reports the team have finally run out of patience with the Aussie driver, with reports suggesting Red Bull will axe the veteran driver following this weekend's race.

Daniel Ricciardo admits his F1 future is uncertain

Asked directly if the Singapore GP could be his final race, Ricciardo replied: "I don't think so but I also don't want to stand here and be the lawyer.

"Look, I would say no, but also we know how this sport works. People have not seen through a season before, so it's nothing new in some ways. So I don't want to also be like 'Oh no, 100 per cent (safe), I'll bet my house on it'. I've been around too long."

With just 12 points from his last 17 races, Ricciardo's results have been underwhelming this season. The Aussie began the season with high hopes of cracking back into Red Bull's top team, reclaiming the seat he once occupied.

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Ricciardo was touted as Sergio Perez's replacement in the main team for 2025 but after being consistently outperformed by teammate Yuki Tsunoda - a man he was expected to outshine by a fair margin. Not only will that not happen, he now looks set to lose his seat to the young Kiwi.

Lawson has long been rumoured to have a clause in his contract that would allow him to move to another team if Red Bull didn't offer him a full-time contract by September. And with the team viewing the young Kiwi as the future of Red Bull, he was locked down by the team and now looks to get his opportunity at the cost of Ricciardo.

with AAP