Red Bull mechanic debunks conspiracy theory: 'I built this car'
- Nicole Mulder
Peter Windsor has received backlash from Red Bull Racing mechanic Calum Nicholas. The Formula 1 analyst believed he had evidence that Red Bull was driving with an illegal part earlier this year - a theory previously disproved after GPblog made enquiries to both the FIA and Red Bull.
Reports of 'illegal solution' at Red Bull previously debunked
A remarkable rumour surfaced during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. An F1 commentator claimed in a tweet on X that two teams had told him that the FIA had instructed Red Bull to change some parts because they would be illegal. This would have been the direct cause of the RB20's recent drop in performance. According to the commentator, the FIA had confirmed this rumour.
GPblog made enquiries to both the FIA and Red Bull, after which it turned out that there was no truth to the rumour. Not long after, the tweet was deleted. Yet the story is now resurfacing: Peter Windsor states - also via a post on X - that Red Bull "might have been running a clever rear cross-brake inertia valve" until the team "were obliged to remove it" before the Miami GP. "This could explain Max's RR brake drama in MEL and his turn-in grief since China," Windsor concludes.
Red Bull mechanic shrugs off 'conspiracy theory' Windsor
A wave of responses followed, including one from Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas. "Yea... this is bull****... Usurprisingly," he responded cynically. Nicholas stressed that people could give the other teams a bit more credit for the work they have done to catch up. "Not everything has to be some big conspiracy," he argues. Faced with the reaction of Craig Scarborough, who endorses Windsor's theory, Nicholas simply says: "I've been building the car for the last 14 races, he hasn't."
Yea… this is bullshit…. Unsurprisingly
— Calum Nicholas (@F1mech) August 16, 2024
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi