Fernando Alonso’s rear wing would not go flat on the straights during Friday’s Sprint qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, and by the time Aston Martin traced the fault to the car’s Straight Line Mode (SLM) system, he had qualified slowest of all 22 drivers.
Pirelli’s chief engineer Simone Berra has since called any SLM failure “very critical” and said the tyre supplier is prepared to bring back proposals that were shelved earlier in the year.
“We can reopen the discussions, because the discussions were open in the middle of the season, so I think it is going more towards next season, and probably we can decide to reopen the discussions with the teams and the FIA,” Berra told RacingNews365.
The measure that could return is a black-and-orange technical flag, the “meatball,” used to order a driver into the pit lane for repairs or retirement. It would apply if a car’s active-aero rear wing stayed locked in one mode during a grand prix, a scenario the 2026 regulations have made routine rather than exotic, because the wing now switches between two configurations on every straight.
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Why Pirelli calls it “very critical”
SLM is the low-drag setting for the rear wing on the straights. If it does not activate, the wing stays in its higher-downforce shape at 300 km/h, and the loads on the rear axle sit well outside the window the tyre compound was chosen for. That is Pirelli’s concern: a car could keep circulating in a configuration the tyres were not built to survive, with nothing obvious for marshals to spot from the outside of the fence.
Berra said Pirelli is still gathering data from Alonso’s Aston Martin because a clean SLM failure in a session is unusual.
“Honestly, we are checking because, for us, it’s interesting to gather this kind of data because it’s not really [something that happens] really often,” he said.
Closed for 2026, back open for 2027
The bad news for anyone hoping for a mid-season rule change is that the 2026 book is shut.
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“At the moment, there are no open points on this topic; it is closed,” Berra said, adding that any protocol would be revisited with the FIA and the teams ahead of the 2027 season.
Alonso himself pinpointed a compound problem in the Aston Martin. The upgraded Honda power unit was over-delivering under braking, and on top of that the rear wing would not open on the straights, as he told PlanetF1. He described the new engine as “probably a bit immature with all of the controls.”
Verstappen out on lap one of Sunday’s race
Aston Martin worked overnight to reset the SLM software and Alonso’s setup, which under parc fermé rules meant the Spaniard had to start Saturday’s Sprint from the pit lane.
On Sunday, Max Verstappen crashed head-on into the outside wall at the banked Luyendyk final corner on lap one of the race, triggering an immediate red flag on a damp circuit. Verstappen was unhurt, climbed out of the car and apologised to Red Bull over the radio for ending his home race almost before it had started.
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