McLaren CEO Zak Brown is still searching for answers over the controversial front-bib ride height device on the 2024 Red Bull Formula 1 challenger.
On Thursday, news out of the United States Grand Prix paddock revealed Red Bull has a device within the cockpit of the RB20 that can adjust the front bib ride height.
The Milton Keynes-based team revealed it cannot be operated when the car is fully assembled, but the FIA and Red Bull have chosen to keep the device sealed moving forward.
Despite this intervention, and promises from Red Bull to allegedly remove the part in Sao Paulo, Brown is dissatisfied with the current outcome.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Brown said: “I think it needs to be a very thorough investigation because if you touch your car from a performance standpoint in parc ferme, that is a black and white material, substantial breach – which should come with massive consequences.
“Touching your car after parc ferme is highly illegal within the rules. So I think the FIA needs to get to the bottom of: were they, weren’t they?”
The McLaren CEO was asked to clarify his stance further during Friday’s press conference at the Circuit of the Americas.
Brown has put his trust in the FIA to track back historically to when the device was first introduced to the Red Bull RB20 and the manner in which has been operated since.
“Having the ability to do it raises questions,” Brown said.
“It’s very clear in the regulations and it’s a material breach that if you modify your race car, anything that you didn’t get permission on or driver comfort is very much against regulations.
“So they’ve decided, from what I’ve read, to put a seal on it. At the same time, I’ve heard from the team that you can’t adjust it when the car is fully race-prepped.
“The car is not always fully race-prepped in parc ferme on Sunday morning, so I think that needs to be unpicked.
“Why do you need to put a seal on something that you can’t get to in parc ferme or post parc ferme conditions?
“I still have questions that I need to better understand.”
McLaren CEO pondering if Red Bull has sought performance gains
With ride height a key performance enhancement under the current F1 regulations if employed correctly, Brown, when prompted, agreed that Red Bull could be courting a performance advantage if it had been using its newfound device in “an inappropriate manner.”
But he did concede that “no,” Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez can’t operate the device whilst in the car, due to physical limitations.
“They’d have to have very long arms to do that,” he quipped.
Brown stated that McLaren has “a lot of confidence in the FIA,” but wants a thorough investigation into Red Bull’s activity.
“As long as the device has had the ability to be adjusted from inside the cockpit, I think it’s probably what needs to be reviewed,” he said.
READ MORE: Red Bull drivers deny ride-height device brought competitive edge
