Red Bull’s penalty for using an illegal front-wing in Abu Dhabi was far too lenient according to Force India’s technical director Andy Green.
The Milton Keynes outfit’s cars were both excluded from Saturday’s qualifying results, dropping them to the back of the grid before both Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel opted to start from the pit lane.
This was after the FIA scrutineers found their front-wing flaps to be overly flexible – something which can bring huge gains in laptime if done correctly as not only can it decrease downforce when it isn’t needed, but it can also stall elements of the car such as the front-wing and even the diffuser, therefore increasing top-speed.
However flexible wings aren’t uncommon, but it’s the way in which Red Bull made their wing flex that Green believes should have warranted greater punishment.
The FIA discovered small springs hidden inside the wing which controlled the movement – a clear contravention of the rules.
“If this had happened to us, we would have been excluded like BAR in 2005 with its hidden fuel tanks,” he said. “But Red Bull only had to start from the pitlane.
“It was a less severe penalty for illegal wings than Lotus had for Romain Grosjean’s legal engine change.”
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