Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has described Red Bull’s contentious ride height-adjusting device as “outrageous” and says he expects the FIA’s leadership to investigate.
The build-up to Sunday’s United States Grand Prix was dominated by discourse around the device, after Red Bull confirmed on Thursday that they had agreed a plan with the FIA to make alterations to their car following talks with the sport’s governing body.
Rival teams suspected the 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.
Red Bull insisted it could not be used for anything untoward as it was not accessible to use when the car was fully assembled.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis reiterated that there was no indication that the reigning constructors’ champions had done anything wrong.
“My view is from the distance of what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, it’s outrageous,” Wolff said after Sunday’s race in Austin.
Wolff suspicious of ‘broom’ in Red Bull demonstration
Following Friday’s first practice session, two FIA officials were in the Red Bull garage being provided with what appeared to be a demonstration of how the device operates.
Wolff appeared to be particularly suspicious of the use of a large tool in the demonstration, which was captured by Sky Sports F1’s cameras.
The FIA said the demonstration was part of checks it was carrying out to ensure that all 20 cars were compliant with its rules.
“I really like that when they put this real broom in the car to demonstrate the only way that getting changed,” Wolff said.
“I wonder how long it took them to make this, and to stick it in there. I didn’t know that in Formula 1 that we were using such devices.
“It’s not good enough to say, ‘that’s it, we promise we’re not going to do it again’.”
Asked about the device and demonstration in an interview with Sky Sports F1 on Saturday, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “Every car has a tool that they can adjust what we call the front of the floor, being the bib, and ours is located at the front, in front of the footwell. It has been there I think for over three years.
“You’ve got to have the pedals out, other panels and pipework out in order to get to it.
“So, it’s like any other adjustment on the car. It would be easier to adjust a rear roll bar than it is to get to that component.
“It’s all part of the packaging in the front end of the chassis.”
Wolff calls on ‘FIA leadership’ to act
The saga began on Wednesday when the FIA released a statement saying 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.
Tombazis said on Saturday that the existence of the device was “certainly not a story from now on” as a result of the measures the FIA have put in place to monitor usage.
However, he added that the sport’s governing body cannot “definitively close the previous races or any insinuations there may be between teams in a very competitive environment”.
Reacting to Tombazis’ comments, Wolff said: “I cannot speak for the FIA at all. I cannot speak for Nikolas.
“Obviously, that’s something that’s been not spotted for a long time.”
But later when asked what could be done on the matter to satisfy him, Wolff said: “I think the leadership of the FIA is going to look at that and say, ‘what are we doing with this?'”
Horner: FIA action was to satisfy rivals’ paranoia
Before Wolff’s comments on Sunday, McLaren chief Zak Brown had stood out as the only rival team boss to publicly question Red Bull’s device.
Brown told Sky Sports F1 on Friday that Red Bull’s explanation for its existence “doesn’t stack up” and that he would expect “massive consequences” if they were found to have used it illegally.
Horner suggested on Saturday that the complaints were a result of “paranoia” and an attempt to “distract” from issues McLaren were facing.
McLaren were asked by the FIA to alter a ‘mini-DRS’ rear wing device on their car after last month’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“I think there’s been a bit of moaning from one of our rivals,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“And it’s the FIA’s job to look into these things. It’s on a list of the open-source components, so it’s been publicly available for the last three years.
“The FIA is happy with it, I think, just to satisfy perhaps some paranoia elsewhere in the paddock.
“I feel that it’s sometimes to distract from perhaps what’s going on in your own house, then sometimes you try to light a fire somewhere else.”
Formula 1’s Americas triple header continues this weekend with the Mexico City Grand Prix, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime