FIA Delivers Crucial Verdicts After Front Bib Adjustment And Tire Cooling Allegations
F1Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at 14:00
Updated at Wednesday, 13 November 2024 at 15:26
FIA concluded its investigations into Red Bull's front bib adjustment and fluid tire cooling, which was suspected some other F1 teams might be utilizing.
Shortly ahead of the 2024 United States Grand Prix, it surfaced that multiple F1 teams suspected Red Bull Racing might have found a way around the rules.
These teams were in talks with FIA specifically about Red Bull's front bib adjustment device, and they had suspicions that the Austrian team could have used it to alter ride height (which could lead to better performance) while in parc ferme, which would be against the regulations.
While FIA insisted that there was no evidence of Red Bull using this device illegally and that there was essentially no way even to prove it looking into the past, the organization ordered Red Bull to seal this device so it couldn't be used in parc ferme. FIA's single-seater director, Nikolas Tombazis, said in Austin:
"To go and retroactively actually prove exactly what has happened before is difficult, and we don't think we have the ability to go and investigate two years' worth of situation."
That, however, didn't stop many questions from rivals, who didn't understand why FIA ordered Red Bull to seal the device if the team from Milton Keynes claimed that it couldn't even be used during parc ferme.
According to motorsport.com, after further lobbying from Toto Wolff (Mercedes) and Zak Brown (McLaren), FIA agreed to launch a "more formal investigation" with the goal of ensuring that Red Bull wasn't hiding anything.
This resulted in a visit to Red Bull's factory in Milton Keynes a week following the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. According to Motorsport.com, FIA personnel examined in detail all the data, design drawings, and the cars during this visit. Afterward, the organization published a statement that read:
"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."
While FIA concluded an investigation of Red Bull, they also reached a conclusion in the investigation of the tire cooling, which Red Bull suspected some other teams, including McLaren, might be taking advantage of.
Injecting tires with unspecified liquid could help limit thermal regulation, which, again, could lead to potential improvements in performance.
FIA conducted their investigation concerning the tire cooling with liquid during the sprint weekend in Brazil and wrote their conclusion in the same statement:
"In parallel, the FIA investigated during the last Grand Prix in Brazil recent allegations that competitors may have used water to manage overheating of tires."
"No evidence was found to suggest any irregular behaviour. We consider both matters closed, but will continue to monitor the situation in detail."
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