Brown doesn't believe Red Bull's explanation about 'illegal' trick on RB20
F1 News
Zak Brown doesn't believe Red Bull Racing's explanation. While the Austrians insist that the system has not been used to change the ride height during Parc Fermé, Brown argues that he and other team bosses remain doubtful.
Brown was candid about Red Bull Racing ahead of the first free practice session in the United States. McLaren's rival in the title race has been accused by other teams of playing a trick with the 'front clearance bib'. That system, which is in Red Bull's car, allows the ride height to be adjusted in parc fermé. Red Bull claims this system has never been used but McLaren are not sure.
"You have to submit the drawings to the FIA, and all the teams have access. It's an open source component. So anyone, every team, which is what we do, we look at, you can see it. So I think there was no denying that they have the ability to access the front bib from inside the car. That's undisputed," Brown told Sky Sports.
Why Brown doesn't believe Red Bull
"Why would you design it to be inside the car when the other nine other teams, it's designed to be outside the car. There are black and white rules. You are not allowed to touch your car (during parc fermé). They [Red Bull] 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 fermé and 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 fermé, they might 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 fermé or in parc fermé, that is a black and white material substantial breach, which come with massive consequences."
"Touching your car after parc fermé is highly illegal within the rules, so I think the FIA needs to get to the bottom of it." Brown suggests other team bosses are also unsure about the situation, so this is not a done deal yet.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton
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