Question marks have been raised over Mercedes’ unusual front wing design as F1 pre-season testing began in Bahrain.

The front wing o𓆏n the W15 has caught the attention of the whole paddock since it broke cover during Mercedes’ Silverstone shakedown last week amid intens♓e scrutiny over its legality.

Mercedes have seemingly found a looph🐼ole in the w💝ording of the regulations which F1’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds says is “within the letter of the law”.

However, Symonds has questioned whether Mercedes’ creative solution, labelled as “genius” by F1 pitlane reporte🅠r Ted Kravitz,🌠 is ‘within the spirit of the regulations’.

“That’s a very interesting i🌞nterpretation,” Symonds said of Mercedes’ unique fro🌞nt wing solution. 

“I think that what is interesting is that in Article 3 ,which really dictates how the aerodynamic shapes a🐻re produced, it’s very clear in the opening statements that the aim of the r♏ules is to ensure we get that close following.

“Wh🍬en you start to get some things that are starting to produce some outwash, and here I think here what we are seeing is really trying to reinstate a st🦹rong vortex to push that very turbulent air that’s coming from the front wheels aside.

“One questions then ‘is that really within the spirit of the rules?’ It’s within the regulations, it’s within the letter of the law, there’ℱs absolutely no doubt about it.

“Is it the 🅠sort of the thing we want? I don’t kn🌠ow. That’s perhaps more debatable.

“I th👍ink we need to know really how strong is the affect. The FIA now have a really good aerodynamic group that are capable of looking at these things and saying ‘yeah, actually there’s nothing wrong with that’, or ‘no, hang on, this is starting a trend we don’t really want to see’.”

Symonds added: “Eꦯverything is worth exploiting on a꧂ racing car, if there’s anything to be gained.

“It’s more a question of ‘what’s good for the sport?’ Rather than wh💧at’s good for Mercedes, what’s good for Red Bull.

“Of course I jumped the fence a couple of years ago, soꦓ now I’m trying to look at what’s good for the sport. Without a doubt, what’s🎉 good for the sport is good, close racing.

“Anything that promotes good racing is good and anything that detracts from that ability to race close is poor in my🌊 mind.”

Merced👍es boss Toto Wolff revealed that the team have been in constant dialogue with the FIA about the💟ir innovative front wing design.

"What's been put on a car is always following an exchange with the FIA, all t♒hrou💛gh the process," Wolff explained.

"It's not such a thing where ꦺyou have a clever idea and then you bolt i🎶t on to test and you think, 'That could be or couldn't be challenged’.

"Thꦗat's a long process of dialogue that happens over the winter. I feel we're in an OK place."