Red Bull have been cleared after a factory visit from the FIA to inspect their RB20 bib device, which sparked concern among some rival teams earlier this season.
Going into the United States Grand Prix, Red Bull became a key talking point as a report claiming that an unnamed team was using an adjustable ride height device, led to Red Bull holding their hands up and confirming the existence of such a device on their RB20, though the team insisted that it had never been used in a way not permitted in the regulations.
FIA clear Red Bull after recent factory visit
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock
However, rivals McLaren and Mercedes expressed concerns, with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown particularly vocal on the matter as assurance was sought that Red Bull had not used the device when the cars were under parc ferme conditions, which would constitute a breach of the regulations. No evidence existed to suggest that Red Bull had done so.
The FIA’s single seaters director Nikolas Tombazis had ruled this a “non-story”, but, as per Motorsport.com, the governing body has visited Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory to carry out a further investigation of that bib device, ruling that it was at no stage used in a way which went against the regulations.
“The FIA regularly reviews and inspects the conformance to the technical, sporting and financial regulations of the F1 teams, and this may involve spot-checks at the circuit or inspections and investigations at the teams’ factories,” read an FIA statement.
“Similarly, it is the prerogative of the F1 teams to bring to the attention of the FIA any concerns about the compliance of their competitors’ with the regulations, and this phenomenon is clearly intensified in championships where there may be closer competition for the ultimate prize, as has been the case in 2024.
“The FIA takes any such issues very seriously and seeks to investigate them in addition to all the regular checks it carries out during a race weekend and beyond.
“As part of this assessment process, FIA technical representatives visited the Red Bull Racing headquarters to investigate in-depth recent allegations about their front floor design and its use. This investigation concluded that no breach has taken place, and therefore confirmed the position adopted by the FIA during the US Grand Prix in Austin.”
Red Bull had already performed a public demonstration of how the in-cockpit device works for the FIA from their garage in Austin, a demonstration which amused Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Asked by the media, including PlanetF1.com, for his stance on the Red Bull bib matter at the time, Wolff said: “My view is from the distance of what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, it’s outrageous.
“I really liked that when they put this real broom in the car to demonstrate how that’s the only way of that getting changed. I wonder how long it took them to make this and to stick it in there.
“And I didn’t know that in Formula 1, we were using such devices.
“It’s not good enough to say, you know that’s it, promise they’re not going to do it again.
“Why would you design something and put two marks on it for two positions? Like you want to bit up, bit up. Is that the precise decision making in Formula 1?”
The FIA’s investigation now provides closure on the matter.