Red Bull boss Chrisitan Horner has come out fighting in his defence of his team’s front bib adjuster, claiming rival Formula 1 outfits are paranoid.
A front bib adjuster on the Red Bull RB20 has been sealed by the FIA after complaints from rival F1 teams that the car could be changed under parc ferme conditions.
Red Bull will seek to make changes to its 2024 F1 challenger to further appease the FIA and rival teams and quash any notion the RB20 is being tweaked between qualifying and race sessions.
Horner, speaking to Sky Sports was confident Red Bull hasn’t breached any of F1’s rules, saying the changes being made under FIA instruction are “because there’s been a bit of moaning from one of our rivals, and it’s the FIA’s job to look into these things.
“It [the adjuster] is 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 it’s just to satisfy perhaps some paranoia elsewhere in the paddock.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown was lobbying for the FIA to investigate the entire history of the front bib adjuster, and uncover whether it has been used in an unsporting manner.
However, Horner’s comments appear to cast doubt over any notion of technical skullduggery.
Not only did the Red Bull Team Principal point out that all teams have a front bib adjuster, but the way the Milton Keynes-based squad has constructed its adjuster makes it practically impossible to access under parc ferme.
“Every car has a tool that they can adjust the front of the bib with,” Horner explained.
“Ours is located at the front, in front of the footwell, and it’s been there for, I think, over three years.
“But you’ve got to have the pedals out, and other panels and pipework out, in order to be able to get to it. So, it’s like any other adjustment on the car.
“If you think that there’s some kind of handbrake or lever that the drivers can activate with a low, medium or high setting, I’m really sorry to disappoint you. There isn’t.”
F1 rivals deflecting controversy towards Red Bull
Horner found it curious that Red Bull has come under fire from rival teams, given McLaren’s mini-DRS controversy from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
McLaren leads Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings by 41 points and had to make changes to its rear-wing after the uppermost element was seen to be flexing too much, thus providing a drag reduction effect.
Horner believes the likes of McLaren want to turn the heat up on Red Bull, to cover their own technical controversies.
“I feel that it’s sometimes to distract from perhaps what’s going on in your own house, that sometimes you try and light a fire somewhere else,” he argued.
Brown meanwhile, had no qualms saying McLaren’s car is fully compliant with the F1 technical regulations.
“Our rear wings passed every single test,” said Brown. “We’ve made some small modifications, as have some others. So that’s a non-issue “
READ MORE: McLaren seeking answers from FIA over Red Bull front-bib device
