In Austin on media day, Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were questioned on allegations made against the team. Allegations that a height altering front ‘bib’ was used to improve performance, leading to the FIA visting the Red Bull garage.
As a recap, the device could alter the ride height of the car which would significantly affect the car’s aerodynamic performance.
It could also reduce the tendencies of understeer and increase downforce between qualifying and the race.
Prior to the release of the allegations and the revelations that the alleged team was Oracle Red Bull Racing.
A statement was put out to confirm the device existence and deny the allegations made.
It was also confirmed that the team had come to an agreement with the FIA moving forward. Though it was not specified exactly what the agreement was.
The FIA’s single-seater director, Nikolas Tombazis had remarked in Austin that he can say with confidence that the matter had been resolved.
“To go and retroactively actually prove exactly what has happened before is difficult, and we don’t think we have the ability to go and investigate two years’ worth of situation.
“I mean, honestly, can I say with complete certainty about whether there’s ever been anything irregular? No. Can I say that the matter is closed? Yes, absolutely.”
Despite the FIA insisting on the lack of evidence to prove that the team had illegally used the device under parc ferme conditions.
Rival teams, namely McLaren and Mercedes still expressed their concern and unhappiness regarding the handling of the situation.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown reportedly called on the FIA to further interview Red Bull to gather more insight on the matter.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff spoke on the FIA’s initial claim of the situation being a ‘closed’ matter, stating:
“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 I think the leadership of the FIA is going to look at that, and say, ‘What are we doing with this?“
It was revealed by Autosport that the FIA paid a visit to Milton Keynes to launch a more formal investigation to ensure Red Bull had complied with the rules.
It has been indicated that the investigation involved the inspection of past data, the actual car itself, the car’s design drawing and even speaking to the team’s respectives personnel.
The investigation has concluded the allegations made against Red Bull with an all-clear from the sport’s governing body. In a statement released by the FIA, they said:
“The FIA regularly reviews and inspects the conformance to the technical, sporting and financial regulations of the F1 teams, and this may involve spot-checks at the circuit or inspections and investigations at the teams’ factories.
“Similarly, it is the prerogative of the F1 teams to bring to the attention of the FIA any concerns about the compliance of their competitors’ with the regulations, and this phenomenon is clearly intensified in championships where there may be closer competition for the ultimate prize, as has been the case in 2024.
“The FIA takes any such issues very seriously and seeks to investigate them in addition to all the regular checks it carries out during a race weekend and beyond.
“As part of this assessment process, FIA technical representatives visited the Red Bull Racing headquarters to investigate in-depth recent allegations about their front floor design and its use.
“This investigation concluded that no breach has taken place, and therefore confirmed the position adopted by the FIA during the US Grand Prix in Austin.”
Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, there were speculations that several teams on the grid had been injecting water into the car’s tyres to lower tyre temperature and enhance its overall performance.
However, no evidence of the matter was found during the FIA’s internal investigations in Brazil.
After the sprint race on the Saturday, Tombazis had personally checked on the tyres himself. This led to the FIA’s conclusion that there was no breaking of rules regarding the matter.
The FIA’s statement stated: “In parallel, the FIA investigated during the last grand prix in Brazil recent allegations that competitors may have used water to manage overheating of tyres. No evidence was found to suggest any irregular behaviour.
“We consider both matters closed, but will continue to monitor the situation in detail.”
