McLaren chief Zak Brown says Red Bull’s explanation for the existence of a contentious ride-height device on their car “doesn’t stack up” and that he expects “massive consequences” if they are found to have been using it illegally.
Red Bull, whose driver Max Verstappen leads McLaren’s Lando Norris by 52 points at the top of the Drivers’ Championship ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, confirmed on Thursday that they have agreed a plan with the FIA to make alterations to their car following talks with the sport’s governing body.
McLaren were among rival teams who suspected a device on the RB20 could enable Red Bull to advantageously change the car’s ride height via the ‘bib’ at the front of the floor when in restricted ‘parc ferme’ conditions, which would be in breach of the sport’s regulations.
While confirming the existence of the device, Red Bull insisted it could not be used for anything untoward as it was not accessible to use when the car was fully assembled.
The FIA earlier said that it had “not received any indication of any team employing such a system,” but that the use of such a device would be against the rules. The governing body also said it would increase its monitoring from Austin onwards to make sure no such systems were being used, with the application of seals on the parts in question a possible method.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports F1’s Danica Patrick on Friday morning in Austin, Brown said: “Why would you design it to be inside the car when with the nine other teams it’s designed to be outside the car?
“Ingenuity is part of Formula 1, and then there are black-and-white rules. You cannot touch your race car, other than for things like driver comfort.
“They chose their words very carefully, saying ‘when the car is fully assembled’, but you’re allowed to not have the car fully assembled in parc ferme when you’re working on driver comfort.
“Also, what doesn’t quite stack up is the comment that you can’t modify it. Well then why does the FIA feel they need to put a seal on it? If it’s not accessible post or during parc ferme, then why put a seal on it?
“So, I’m very happy to see the FIA is on it. I think it needs to be a very thorough investigation because, if you touch your car from a performance standpoint after parc ferme or in parc ferme, that is a black and white, material, substantial breach, which comes with massive consequences.”
The controversy follows McLaren being asked by the FIA to alter a ‘mini-DRS’ rear wing device on their car after last month’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris went on to claim a dominant victory in Singapore the following week.
Brown added: “I think transparency is critically important in today’s day and age. I still have questions. I know from talking to other team bosses, they still have questions.
“Until those questions are answered I think it is still an ongoing investigation to bottom out. What do we know? I would like some more answers before I’m prepared to go, ‘right, they were, they weren’t’. But I think the FIA will bottom it out.”
Red Bull give remarkable demonstration as Marko denies illegality
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko insisted following first practice in Austin on Friday that Red Bull’s device is “completely legal” and that he guesses “nearly every team has it.”
Marko told Sky Italy: “It’s completely legal and it was known to all the other teams because you know we had informed the FIA about that.
“I guess nearly every team has it. And you can’t change it between qualifying and the race, so that’s the main thing.
“So, nothing illegal. I don’t know why so much fuss is being made about it. I think someone is trying to take away the attraction of some other issues.
Also following the opening session in Austin, Red Bull appeared to perform a demonstration of how the device operates for two FIA officials in their garage.
Watching the demonstration from the pit lane, Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz said: “This is the Red Bull number one mechanic Ole Schack demonstrating to two scrutineers from the FIA’s technical department exactly how they do it.
“I never thought that they were actually going to be this open. Ole Shack is actually showing how he puts the device into the footwell of the car, once the driver is out, which adjusts the ride height of the front of the car.
“So part of this is for the FIA to actually understand how the device works in a little bit more depth, because today and yesterday would have been the first chance the FIA would have had to do it. And how they’re going to measure it, perhaps with a seal, perhaps with any other form of measurement.
“And what happens once Sprint qualifying and the first parc ferme period begins later this afternoon Austin time? The FIA needs to understand ‘well, how are we going to measure whether you’re changing the floor in parc ferme as the allegations have been against you.'”
The FIA said the demonstration was part of checks they are carrying out on all cars in relation to front bib adjustments.
“We are just checking that all the cars comply with our new requirement,” an FIA spokesperson said.
How the controversy came to light
The fresh technical controversy blew up on Wednesday when the FIA confirmed that it had been made aware by some teams of the presence of a ride-height-altering device on a rival’s car.
The governing body made clear the use of any such device under parc ferme conditions would be against the regulations and that it was altering its procedures from Austin to make sure no such systems were being used.
“Any adjustment of the front bib clearance during parc ferme conditions is strictly prohibited by the regulations,” said the FIA statement.
“While we have not received any indication of any team employing such a system, the FIA remains vigilant in our ongoing efforts to enhance the policing of the sport.
“As part of this, we have implemented procedural adjustments to ensure that front bib clearance cannot be easily modified.
“In some cases, this may involve the application of a seal to provide further assurance of compliance.”
With what has become a thrilling F1 season set to resume in Austin after a near month-long break, the issue was the talk of the paddock on Thursday morning, with speculation rife over which team had such a device.
The mystery was suddenly dispelled when Red Bull released a statement confirming that their RB20 did contain such a tool.
“Yes, [it] exists, although it is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run,” a Red Bull spokesperson said.
“In the numerous correspondence we have with the FIA, this part came up and we have agreed a plan going forward.”
Red Bull’s statement came shortly before title contenders Norris and Verstappen fulfilled their media obligations ahead of the Sprint weekend.
Norris said the device could have aided Verstappen this season if Red Bull were exploiting it, and that the FIA’s newly implemented procedural adjustments could impact the RB20’s performance for the six remaining rounds of the campaign.
“It’s one thing having it on your car, it’s another thing on how much you exploit it and use it, which we have no idea on,” Norris said.
“If it has been helping them, if they have been utilising it in a way people think they have, maybe it will shift in our direction.
“But, when you talk about things like that, they won’t have got several pole positions or wins because of that device.
“I don’t think it will change anything in the scheme of things. Maybe at certain qualifyings when it has been split by hundredths or thousandths, you might say, ‘okay, maybe this has helped in this direction or that direction’.”
With Red Bull adamant the device was not being used to contravene the parc ferme regulations, Verstappen said the fact that details of the feature were available to other teams on FIA servers under regulations revolving around open-source parts showed they were not trying to hide anything.
Asked about the reaction inside the team to Thursday’s events, Verstappen said: “Nothing. I mean, it’s open source, right? Everyone can see it.
“For us, it was just an easy tool when the parts were off that it was easy to adjust. But once the whole car is built together, you can’t touch it. So, for us, it doesn’t change…
“When I read it, I was thinking about ‘are there other teams doing it?’ And then I found out it was related to our team. We never even mentioned it in the briefings, so it’s just an easier tool to adjust stuff.”
Verstappen added that it had “no” benefit on car performance.
Sky Sports F1’s live United States GP schedule
Friday October 18
8.30pm: Team Principals’ Press Conference
10pm: United States GP Sprint Qualifying (qualifying starts at 10.30pm*)
Saturday October 19
6pm: United States GP Sprint build-up
7pm: United States GP Sprint
8.30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
10pm: United States GP Qualifying build-up*
11pm: United States GP Qualifying*
(Sunday) 1am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday October 20
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up*
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event (Sunday’s race build-up from 7.15pm)
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