Recent reports claim that Red Bull has recently filed a complaint to the FIA against McLaren for breaching regulations. The complaint was about an additional hole in MCL38’s brake drum, resulting in better brake cooling.

In previous years, Red Bull was so far ahead of every other team that they did not feel any pressure for the title. In 2024, however, the Austrian team’s rivals like Ferrari, McLaren, and even Mercedes have drastically closed the gap to the top.

Ever since the sport began in 1950, teams have observed cars from their rivals to spot anything that could give them an on-track advantage, whether it is a certain aerodynamic design that can be copied or a part that does not comply with the regulations. The latter is what the Milton-Keynes-based team reportedly found in McLaren’s MCL38.

As per “Auto Motor und Sport”, Red Bull complained to the FIA that McLaren cars have an additional hole in their brake drums that is allowing them to cool down the brakes more efficiently. Brake drums usually have holes through which a sensor goes through that detects internal brake temperatures and gives teams a better idea to manage the heat.

According to the report, the rules are that these holes in the brake drum are allowed to be open for data collection during Friday’s practice sessions. They then need to be closed up for Saturday and Sunday sessions. Red Bull has claimed that MCL38’s brakes had additional holes open in certain sessions.

After the FIA took a closer look at both the orange cars cars in the Austrian and British GP, the Woking-based team stuck a tape on top of the holes to close them during Saturday and Sunday sessions.

McLaren boss lashes out on Red Bull for not respecting regulations

McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently fired shots at Red Bull for allegedly not respecting FIA’s financial and sporting regulations.

Speaking in the press conference ahead of the British GP, Zak Brown addressed the intense on-track battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at the Austrian GP. He said that though the tussle was quite entertaining for the fans, Red Bull should guide its drivers in the right direction during such on-track battles. Brown urged that the FIA regulations should be followed more strictly by every team.

“I think we need to have respect for regulations and we’ve seen there be lack of respect, whether it’s financial regulations or you know sporting, on-track issues with fathers and things of that nature, and I just don’t think that’s how we need to go racing and we need to guide our drivers on what’s right or wrong,” Brown said.

After the British GP, McLaren is third in the constructors’ championship table with 295 points, while Red Bull leads the table with 373 points.