Brown calls for “massive consequences” if the Red Bull device were used illegally

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown says Red Bull will face “massive consequences” if it is proven to have used a device to illegally change the distance of its front number plate.

Red Bull admitted it has a device on its car that allows it to make adjustments quickly and easily after the FIA ​​said it was taking a strict approach in this area to ensure no team made changes in accordance with the Parc -Fermé provisions. Such a change would be illegal and Red Bull claims it only used the device for setup purposes before the start of parc fermé. However, with the FIA ​​giving instructions to remove it, Brown is not convinced.

“Well, why would you design it to be in the car when the other nine teams designed it to be outside the car?” Brown asked Sky Sports.

“Ingenuity is part of Formula 1, and then there are black and white rules. You can't touch your race car, apart from things like driver comfort – they've chosen their words very carefully and say “when the car is fully assembled”, but you can't have the car fully assembled in parc fermé when you are Working on driver comfort.

“What also doesn’t quite fit is the comment that you can’t change it. Then why does the FIA ​​think they have to seal this? If it is not accessible after posting or during parc fermé, why seal it?

“That’s why I’m very happy that the FIA ​​​​is there. I think it needs a very thorough investigation because if you touch your car from a performance perspective, after parc fermé or in parc fermé, it is a black and white material violation that is likely to have serious consequences.

“Touching your car after parc fermé is highly illegal under the rules. So I think the FIA ​​needs to get to the bottom of the question of where were they or not?

“Why would you design it to fit in the car when the nine other teams haven’t? So I think it's unfair of me to say… Of course I have an opinion about whether I think they did that or not. But I think the FIA ​​needs to be very careful about bottoming out, whether it believes it has bottomed out or not.

“When you see cleverly worded comments like 'You can't do that when it's fully assembled', but I know the car isn't always fully assembled, and then the FIA ​​says they have to put a seal on it, why should that then be like this?” Does the FIA ​​​​have to seal something if it is not accessible?

“I think transparency is crucial in this day and age. So I still have questions. From conversations with other team bosses, I know that they still have questions. Until these questions are answered, I think it's still an ongoing investigation to find out what we know.

“I would like a few more answers before I decide to say, 'Right, I guess that's true, isn't it', but I think the FIA ​​​​will manage.”

Brown believes Red Bull admitted it was the focus of the FIA ​​communication regarding the device because all opposing teams were able to see it for themselves.

“I think they probably had no choice because it released something called open source components – OSC – where all teams can see what the others are doing. You must submit the drawings to the FIA ​​and all teams have access if it is an open source component.

“So everyone, every team, that’s what we do – we look at it and you can see it. So I think there's no denying that they have the ability to access their front race number from inside the car. That's undeniable, so I think they had no choice but to say, “Yes, we can.”

“We know We That's not possible – we don't have access, it's not designed that way – and from what we're seeing with the other eight teams, neither is it. So I think they had no choice.”