The FIA says it is not able to judge whether Red Bull broke the rules by using its so-called ‘bib device’ under parc ferme conditions in previous races.
But the governing body’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said it has no indication that Red Bull broke the rules. He is also satisfied the measures it has put in place for this weekend will ensure no team could gain an advantage through such a system in the future.
“I think it’s certainly not a story from now on,” the FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis told Sky. “I think we’ve done all that’s needed to stop there being any accusations.
“Of course, it is a tight championship and people get rather excited about each other’s cars and so we can’t definitively close the previous races or any insinuations there may be between teams in a very competitive environment. But in the present situation, we believe it’s a non-story.”
Tombazis said camera footage of the cars under parc ferme conditions would not be sufficient to demonstrate the front bib had not been altered. However he stressed the FIA had no reason to believe any such change had ever been made.
“We are talking really something like a couple of millimetres or something like that, potentially,” he said. “We’re really talking about very small numbers. I don’t think it’s something that we could go and check.
“But also, we don’t have any indication or proof or anything like that about something untoward having happened before.”
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the component in question has been on their car for “over three years” and said the FIA’s investigation had been prompted by “a bit of moaning from one of our rivals.” He denied they have used the device to make any adjustments while under parc ferme conditions.
“It was a conversation that we actually had with the FIA in Singapore and they’ve looked at and they’re more than happy with it,” he explained. “They’re totally happy with it.
“So just to explain to the public, there’s about 600 items on the car that are fully adjustable. Everybody can adjust these items. What you can’t do is adjust them during parc ferme and that is what hasn’t happened. It would be easier to adjust a floor stay or a roll bar or a pushrod length than strip out the pedals.
“We have cameras watching the cars. We have scrutineers and witnesses watching the cars. Our car has come under more scrutiny in the last three years than any other car in the pit lane. So we’re totally comfortable.”
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said he expected the FIA to “do a thorough look back and see if there’s anything that they don’t like that they saw”. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur agreed any use of the device under parc ferme conditions would be a clear violation but said he is prepared to accept the FIA’s judgement.
“We have to trust the FIA on this one,” he told Sky. “I don’t want to make any comment on rumours and so on because I don’t know what’s happened, I’m not into the team for sure and I don’t know if they used it or not.
“But if they used it [in parc ferme] it’s clearly cheating, it’s not a grey area or whatever. We had tons of grey areas from the beginning of the season but this, if it’s the case, it wouldn’t be a grey area at all, but we have to trust the FIA and let’s see.”
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2024 United States Grand Prix
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