During Friday practice, the T-wing fell off Valtteri Bottas’s car and caused damage to the floor of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Given that this was the second such incident, following a similar one in China, the FIA has taken it extremely seriously.

In addition to the obvious safety implication for drivers, there was a question of marshals having to go on track to retrieve debris.

Frustrated by the damage caused to Verstappen’s car, Red Bull boss Christian Horner called yesterday for the wings to be banned.

Mercedes has worked overnight to strengthen the T-wings, and the team now has to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that the fix can guarantee that there will not be a repeat.

If technical delegate Jo Bauer is not satisfied, then the FIA will ask the team to remove the wings. In the unlikely event that the team contests that decision, the FIA has the option to refer the matter to the stewards as a case of “dangerous construction.”

When Lewis Hamilton’s car was pushed to the FIA scrutineering bay this morning for the team’s own usual pre-session checks, it was missing its T-wing, although that may have been because the fix was still being worked on.