Christian Horner has hit out at ‘moaning from one of our rivals’ after the FIA placed a seal in the cockpit of their car amid complaints over an adjustment device.
Red Bull had confirmed the existence of a device which was capable of altering the front bib height on their car.
The team had stressed the it is ‘inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run’, with a plan agreed with the FIA going forwards.
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown had expressed concerns that the device could have been used to adjust the car between qualifying and race when changes are not allowed.
Brown had claimed there should be ‘massive consquences’ if Red Bull had been found to have using the device against the rules.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit out at rivals for ‘paranoia’ over their car
The FIA seal on a device in the Red Bull’s cockpit following concerns expressed by rivals
‘Being able to run the car lower is a competitive advantage,’ Brown had said.
‘From what we can see, it is the only team that has the ability to adjust the ride height from inside the cockpit, and that raises questions.
‘It’s very clear that if you modify your car without permission, it is against the regulations, so they have decided to put a seal on it.’
The FIA had confirmed ‘procedural adjustments’ had been made to to ensure the front bib clearance cannot be easily modified.
Red Bull team principal Horner, speaking to Sky Sports, claimed the discussion around the device was due to ‘paranoia’ from rivals.
‘I think there’s been a bit of moaning from one of our rivals,’ he said, after the FIA wanted to add seals to the bib adjuster ahead of the Grand Prix in Austin.
‘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 are 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?’
McLaren chief Zak Brown said is is ‘comfortable’ the FIA are ‘on top of a potential issue’
Brown has since declared he is ‘comfortable’ the FIA are on top of a ‘potential issue’.
The situation emerged ahead of the United States Grand Prix, the first race back after a fourth week break.
Red Bull star Max Verstappen took the pole for the sprint race in Austin, with title rival Lando Norris in fourth.
The reigning world champion leads the standings by 52 points from Norris with six races to go.