FIA boss declares Red Bull bib row a 'non-story' as Christian Horner calls out 'paranoia'

The build-up to the United States Grand Prix has been dominated by contention implicit a instrumentality connected the Red Bull cars which rivals interest could let them to circumvent F1's parc ferme rules

Christian Horner has accused Red Bull's rivals of "paranoia" amid accusations of amerciable usage of a instrumentality connected their cars.

A instrumentality connected the RB20, located adjacent the driver's footwell allows for the tallness of the 'bib' underneath the car to beryllium changed. And immoderate rivals person complained to the FIA, claiming that it is casual to entree and imaginable to alteration adjacent erstwhile nether parc ferme conditions.

Red Bull owned up to the device's beingness and, retired of caution, FIA officials visited their store astatine the United States Grand Prix to connect seals to the adjustable parts successful that area. And, adjacent though McLaren main Zak Brown has called for further investigation, the FIA is hoping that volition beryllium the extremity of the matter.

The governing body's azygous seater manager Nikolas Tombazis told Sky Sports: "It is simply a choky title and radical get excited astir each others' cars. So we cannot definitively adjacent the erstwhile races oregon immoderate insinuations determination whitethorn beryllium betwixt teams successful a precise competitory environment, but successful the contiguous concern we judge it is simply a non-story, yes."

Tombazis insisted determination is nary grounds that Red Bull did thing incorrect and said the FIA had felt the request to intervene to unopen down specified suggestions from different teams. He explained: "At the erstwhile race, it was pointed retired to america that definite designs could let a alteration of the tallness astatine the beforehand of the car, which immoderate radical telephone a bib, successful parc ferme.

"We did not person immoderate denotation oregon immoderate impervious that anybody was doing thing similar that - that would intelligibly beryllium amerciable nether parc ferme regulations. So we said that from this contention onwards, determination indispensable beryllium nary anticipation of doing specified a happening astatine all. So if a squad had a plan that would let a speedy alteration of that height, it would person to beryllium sealed truthful they could not person entree successful parc ferme.

"All teams person adhered to that and, arsenic acold arsenic we are concerned, that is nether control. It is surely not a communicative from present on. I deliberation we person done each that is needed to halt determination being immoderate accusations."

Also speaking to the broadcaster, Red Bull squad main Horner suggested McLaren were utilizing the taxable arsenic a "distraction". He said: "Every car has a instrumentality that they tin set the beforehand of the bib. Ours is located successful beforehand of the footwell and it has been determination for implicit 3 years. You person got to get the pedals and different panels and pipework retired successful bid to get to it, truthful it is similar immoderate different accommodation connected the car.

"It would beryllium easier to set a rear rotation barroom than it would beryllium to get to that component. It is each portion of the packaging successful the beforehand extremity of the chassis. I deliberation determination has been a spot of moaning from 1 of our rivals, and it is the FIA's occupation to look into these things. It is connected a database of open-source components truthful it has been publically disposable for the past 3 years. The FIA are blessed with it, conscionable to fulfill immoderate paranoia elsewhere successful the paddock.

"Sometimes, to possibly distract from what is going connected successful your ain house, sometimes you effort to airy a occurrence determination else. There was an atrocious batch of sound astir rear wings... It is portion of Formula 1 and I americium definite determination volition beryllium different things that travel up betwixt present and Abu Dhabi. The FIA person looked astatine it and they are much than blessed with it."