SINGAPORE (AP) — Oscar Piastri says he's happy with the apparent flexible rear wing on his race-winning car but it's not a “magic bullet” making McLaren the team to beat in Formula 1 ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Widely-shared footage from Piastri's win last week in Azerbaijan appears to show part of the rear wing flexing under the airflow at high speed, in a way that could potentially reduce drag and allow the car to go faster.
“It’s legal," Piastri said of the wing Thursday. "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.”
Piastri added the wing isn't 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.
“I honestly didn’t even know that it did that until three days ago," Piastri said. "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.”
Piastri argued that on-form teams like McLaren — which overtook Red Bull in the constructors' standings last week — inevitably attract more attention. Various teams have faced questions in the past over elements of their front and rear wings.
“There’s going to be scrutiny of people curious to know why your car is competitive so I certainly don’t think it’s personal to us,” Piastri said.
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.
“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.
In a statement, the governing body 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, if a team successfully passes all deflection tests and adheres to the regulations and technical directives, they are deemed to be in full compliance, and no further action will be taken.”
The FIA added that it is reviewing data and other evidence “and is considering any mitigating measures for future implementation.” It noted it has the authority to make “regulatory changes” mid-season if needed.
Piastri is fourth in the standings, 91 points off Verstappen and 32 behind teammate Lando Norris of Britain, who is Verstappen's closest challenger. A race win is worth 25 points.
Piastri closed the gap with his win in Baku, where his teammate recovered to fourth after qualifying a long way back, but the Australian said he'll still be expected by McLaren to help out Norris.
“If I’m in a position to still win races, then that’s what I want to do and I think I showed in Baku that I’m capable of doing that,” he said. “But naturally if there’s times where I can help out for Lando’s championship bid then I’ll be happy to help out as well.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain in action during a Formula One Grand Prix practice in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during a Formula One Grand Prix practice in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has warned Israel that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid it is allowing into Gaza within the next 30 days or it could risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned their Israeli counterparts in a letter dated Sunday that the changes must occur. The letter, which restates U.S. policy toward humanitarian aid and arms transfers, was sent amid deteriorating conditions in northern Gaza and an Israeli airstrike on a hospital tent site in central Gaza that killed at least four people and burned others.
A similar letter that Blinken sent to Israeli officials in April led to more humanitarian assistance getting to the Palestinian territory, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday. But that has not lasted.
“In fact, it’s fallen by over 50% from where it was at its peak," Miller said at a briefing. "So the secretary, along with Secretary Austin, thought it was appropriate to make clear to the government of Israel that there are changes that they need to make again, to see that the level of assistance making it into Gaza comes back up from the very, very low levels that it is at today.”
For Israel to continue qualifying for foreign military financing, the level of aid getting into Gaza must increase to at least 350 trucks a day, Israel must institute additional humanitarian pauses and provide increased security for humanitarian sites, Austin and Blinken said in their letter. They said Israel had 30 days to respond to the requirements.
“The letter was not meant as a threat," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. "The letter was simply meant to reiterate the sense of urgency we feel and the seriousness with which we feel it, about the need for an increase, a dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance.”
An Israeli official confirmed a letter had been delivered but did not discuss the contents. That official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a diplomatic matter, confirmed the U.S. had raised “humanitarian concerns” and was putting pressure on Israel to speed up the flow of aid into Gaza.
The letter, which an Axios reporter posted a copy of online, was sent during a period of growing frustration in the administration that despite repeated and increasingly vocal requests to scale back offensive operations against Hamas, Israel’s bombardment has led to unnecessary civilian deaths and risks plunging the region into a much wider war.
“We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government, including halting commercial imports, denying or impeding 90 percent of humanitarian movements” and other restrictions have kept aid from flowing, Blinken and Austin said.
The Biden administration is increasing its calls for its ally and biggest recipient of U.S. military aid to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while assuring that America's support for Israel is unwavering just before the U.S. presidential election in three weeks.
Funding for Israel has long carried weight in U.S. politics, and Biden said this month that “no administration has helped Israel more than I have.”
Humanitarian aid groups fear that Israeli leaders may approve a plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas, which could trap hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are unwilling or unable to leave their homes without food, water, medicine and fuel.
U.N. humanitarian officials said last week that aid entering Gaza is at its lowest level in months. About 80 trucks carrying aid have entered through crossings in Gaza’s north since Oct. 1, down from roughly 60 trucks a day previously, according to the U.N. website tracking deliveries.
COGAT, the Israeli body facilitating aid crossings into Gaza, denied that crossings to the north have been closed.
U.S. officials said the letter was sent to remind Israel of both its obligations under international humanitarian law and of the Biden administration’s legal obligation to ensure that the delivery of American humanitarian assistance should not be hindered, diverted or held up by a recipient of U.S. military aid.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas has killed over 42,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The Hamas attacks that launched the war killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants abducted another 250.
The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East, according to a report for Brown University’s Costs of War project.
That aid has enabled Israel to purchase billions of dollars worth of munitions it has used in its operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, many of those strikes also have killed civilians in both areas.
AP reporter Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a news conference during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Tang Chhin Sothy/Pool Photo via AP)
