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Red Bull has admitted it's the Formula 1 team at the centre of the controversy over a front bib adjustment device that has prompted FIA action ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
As first reported by Autosport, suspicions were raised over the possibility of a team being able to change the height of the ‘bib’ at the front of the car’s floor between qualifying and the race - which should be prohibited under parc ferme regulations - via a device in the cockpit.
The Race’s Mark Hughes learned that the team in question was reminded after qualifying at last month’s Singapore Grand Prix that changing the clearance of the bib was prohibited by the parc ferme regulations and for the race, that team complied with the requirement to maintain the setting used in qualifying.
Now a Red Bull spokesperson has confirmed to the BBC that it is the team involved but argued that the device was not actually useable in a way that would have contravened the rules.
"Yes, [the device] exists, although it is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run,” said the spokesperson.
"In the numerous correspondence we have with the FIA, this part came up and we have agreed a plan going forward."
MARK HUGHES ON WHY TEAMS WOULD WANT TO CHANGE RIDE HEIGHT
In theory, being able to adjust the height of the floor’s leading edge would allow you to derive maximum aerodynamic performance from running the floor low in qualifying.
Raising the floor for the race would not only allow for the increased weight of the car when fuelled up but could also avoid wearing out the underbody plank beyond the permitted 10% thickness.
If forced to run a lower ride height than ideal for the race, the driver would need to take care not to ground out the car over bumps and not be so aggressive with the kerbs.
From this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, any adjusting controls for the bib height need to be physically sealed.
“Any adjustment of the front bib clearance during parc fermé conditions is strictly prohibited by the regulations," read an FIA statement issued on Wednesday.
"While we have not received any indication of any team employing such a system, the FIA remains vigilant in our ongoing efforts to enhance the policing of the sport.
"As part of this, we have implemented procedural adjustments to ensure that front bib clearance cannot be easily modified.
"In some cases, this may involve the application of a seal to provide further assurance of compliance.”
THE TITLE RIVALS' STANCES
Max Verstappen's title rival Lando Norris was asked for his thoughts on the FIA's action in the pre-event US GP press conference on Thursday.
"It's one thing having it on your car, it's another how much you use it and exploit it, which we have no idea on," Norris said.
"If it has been helping them, if they have been utilising it in a way people think they have, then maybe it will shift in our direction [after the FIA intervention].
"But when you're talking about things like that, they're not going to have got several pole positions or wins just because of such a device. I don't think it would have changed anything in the scheme of things.
"But when we look at certain qualifyings and we look at the gap at certain races, when it's been split by hundredths or even thousands, then you might say 'OK it's helped in this or that direction'."
He intimated that he regarded the Red Bull device as a different and more serious issue than the rear wing McLaren agreed to change after rivals raised concerns over how it was flexing around the DRS gap.
"I think it's good the FIA is doing such a thing, there's a difference between black and white stuff," said Norris in relation to the Red Bull ride height device.
"And a difference between Formula 1 and pushing the boundaries, creating new things and innovating within the space that you're allowed to innovate, that's what we as McLaren have done a very good job in, but we're sure not to go any further than that."
Team-mate Oscar Piastri took the same stance.
"We're pushing the boundaries of the technical regulations, everyone is in F1. It's what makes F1 F1," he said.
"But from what I've heard, and been told, something like this isn't pushing the boundaries, it's breaking them. It's out of the grey area and into the black area."
Verstappen dismissed the controversy though, arguing Red Bull had nothing to hide because the device was listed on the open-source component documents submitted to the FIA and reiterating the team spokesperson's description that it was impossible to use when the car was fully constructed.
"For us, it was just an easy tool when the parts were off, it was easy to adjust," he said. "But once the whole car is built together, you can’t touch it."
