Formula 1: FIA provides further details on the use of the movable rear wing

At this week's Valencia test, the FIA ​​gave the teams more details on how the rear swing wing will work for 2011.

Drivers tested this overtaking aid this week, with spotters able to visibly see the movement of the rear wing on the straight.

It is feared that if pilots are allowed to press the rear wing button too often, overtaking becomes trivial and uninteresting.

So the FIA ​​told the teams that if a car is close to another car - say, within a second - the wing can only be activated within a 600 meter zone at the end of a straight.

These areas will reportedly be marked with white lines, and Guardian correspondent Richard Williams reported that the gap will be calculated into the bend before the straight.

“Further information, and more details are still to be clarified,” said Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa, adding that the wings will not be used in the wet for now.

“Then it will be a case of seeing how things go in the race to understand how to proceed,” he added, suggesting that the rules can be adjusted depending on the results of the initial races.

Anticipated feedback from the drivers is that, combined with preparing and activating the KERS and watching when to operate the rear wing, their workload in the car is increasingly complicated.

“It's not fun – pressing buttons, changing gears, holding down, etc.,” said Rubens Barrichello.

Of the most recent generation, however, Fernando Alonso said that he is starting to get used to the new functions after a few days in the car.

The old guard is convinced. “It's not motoring. It's calculation,” said former Swiss driver and commentator Marc Surer.

But F1's most successful driver, Michael Schumacher, supports the concept. “It's a good innovation,” he told German media Auto Motor und Sport.

“We know that in F1, we have a problem with cars following others. If there isn't a radical change in the relationship between aerodynamic and mechanical grip, we need something else. This could help,” added the German.

And Schumacher said he doubts that pressing the button will make overtaking easy.

“There is no button for driving. It could be the way to close the gap to get in the wake and start a fight. Or it could be that it's not enough.”