The FIA is inspecting front bib adjusters on various Formula 1 cars at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, following suspicions that Red Bull may have been using the device in parc ferme.
The saga has captivated the F1 paddock at Austin, after Red Bull admitted it had such a device at the centre of the controversy that followed the revelation by Autosport that the FIA had moved to clampdown on such parts following the Singapore GP.
Ahead of FP1 at the Circuit of the Americas, McLaren team boss Zak Brown called for the FIA to conduct a “very thorough investigation” into the matter.
After the only one-hour practice session for this weekend’s sprint event, footage captured by Sky’s cameras showed FIA officials inspecting the area of concern on both Red Bull RB20 cars.
Autosport has learned that the governing body is conducting similar checks up and down the pitlane at Austin on Friday.
This is part of a data-gathering exercise to ensure the similar parts that are present on all F1 cars do not need to be sealed, as is happening on Red Bull’s car before the part can be modified to assure the FIA it will not be used between qualifying and the race.
The team is expected to make this permanent fix ahead of the Brazilian GP at the end of the current triple-header.
All F1 teams have systems in place to allow ride heights to be altered around the front bib part, but the suggestion that Red Bull’s device could have been used to alter set-up settings between qualifying and the race is why the matter has become so controversial.
Red Bull strongly denies that it ever used the adjuster in such a way, and the FIA previously stated that it is satisfied there is no evidence of such a regulation breach by any team.
The FIA’s head of single-seaters Nikolas Tombazis reiterated to Sky Sports on Friday that he was satisfied the matter had been dealt with sufficiently.
“We didn't have any clear indication that somebody was doing such a thing,” he said. “So we said that from this race onwards there must be no possibility to do such a thing at all.
“If a team has a design that would allow quick change of that height, then it will have to be seen, so they cannot have access in parc ferme.
“I think all teams have adhered to that. And as far as we are concerned, that's reasonably under control.”
Autosport sources also suggested that the formal investigation Brown has called for has not yet been enacted by the FIA, and that the current spot checks across the grid are not part of such a process.
Tombazis added the FIA would not try to examine previous activities to check on compliance.
“We are talking about a couple of millimetres or something [of change],” he said. “We're really talking very, very small numbers. I don't think it's something that we could go and check.
“But, as I say, we don't have any indication or proof or anything like that about something untoward having happened before.”
Brown also faced the F1 press corps at Austin on Friday, where he said Red Bull “is the only team that has the ability to adjust the ride height from inside the cockpit”.
“Whether they have or haven’t, I have no idea, but having the ability to do it raises questions,” he said.
Brown added that one of the questions he and McLaren want answered is “what has maybe historically happened” and “understanding if it’s been used in an inappropriate manner”.
Asked by Autosport how far back it was suspected that something untoward might have been occurring regarding Red Bull’s device and how far back he was expecting the FIA to therefore look, Brown replied: “As long as the device has had the ability to be adjusted from inside the cockpit, I think is probably what needs to be reviewed.”
Speaking alongside Brown in the press conference was Laurent Mekies – team principal of Red Bull’s junior team, RB, who argued that the FIA’s processes already prohibit a team acting as Red Bull is suspected of doing.
“There are many things you can adjust on a race car and the parc ferme rule is not exactly a new rule – it’s been there for 15 years,” said Mekies, who previously worked as safety director and then deputy F1 race director for the FIA.
“So, for 15 years the FIA had to watch if we were not adjusting stuff that we could mechanically adjust during that time from qualifying to the race.
“There is nothing new there, so I don’t think it’s a new, additional, stress. You can change your front ride height or rear ride height, or anti-roll bar or damper settings probably with a click or a spanner.
“But the FIA make sure that you don’t do that. And we have cameras and we have the marshals with us in our garages, around the cars, during the whole time in which we’re in the garage from the end of quali until the start of the race.
“So, I don’t think it’s a new concern. The FIA has to ensure that we don’t touch at all any of the car specifications or settings and I don’t think there is anything new here.”
