F1: FIA says case is closed on Red Bull ride-height device

The device, whose presence on the cars driven by world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez was confirmed by the team, has been a hot topic at this weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing walk in the Paddock prior to the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

Formula One’s governing body on Saturday ruled out a deeper investigation of Red Bull’s ride-height device while recognising it could not be sure there had been no breach of the rules in the past.

The device, whose presence on the cars driven by world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez was confirmed by the team, has been a hot topic at this weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin.

Red Bull has agreed to changes after discussions with the governing FIA, with the device likely to have seals attached to it, but championship rivals McLaren have said there are questions still to be answered.

The FIA’s head of single seaters Nikolas Tombazis told selected reporters the governing body did not have the ability to investigate potentially two years’ worth of evidence and considered the matter dealt with.

“I mean, honestly, can I say with complete certainty about whether there’s ever been anything irregular? No. Can I say that the matter is closed? Yes, absolutely,” he said.

“I do think the amount of discussion about this topic is about a factor of 100 more than it deserves.”

Red Bull’s rivals have suggested the team could have been able to breach Formula One rules on adjusting car set-ups during closed ‘parc ferme’ conditions between the start of qualifying and the race.

Tombazis said that while there were cameras in garages to monitor cars under such conditions, mechanics were still able to access them legally, and it would be hard to produce evidence.

“We don’t seal the cars completely and not let anyone near them,” he explained. “That’s why we believe that this system would allow potentially an easy change, a quick change, without being detectable.

“And that’s why we said, OK, to stop any discussion let’s put a seal there so there’s no discussion.”

Tombazis said to accuse anyone of cheating over a period of time was “a leap that I don’t want to take”.

He pointed to staff movements between teams and changing loyalties as having played a part in such controversies emerging, particularly when championships were at stake.

“I’ve obviously worked in the past in teams, quite a lot, and I’ve employed people from other teams. I think there is sometimes a tendency to say ‘Well, where I came from, we were doing X, Y, Z’,” added Tombazis.

“And sometimes one has to really interpret these comments very, very carefully. You cannot just base an escalation on a few comments like that.”