Red Bull calls for more stringent front wing testing

Red Bull captain Christian Horner considers it sporting, although the FIA’s recent technical guidance will cost the racing team a lot of money: “Mercedes pushed it with the back wings. That’s part of the game in Formula 1. We voted for it last year. , As we used that motors may only be used with one power mode. ” But he also says: “Mercedes cares more about the affairs of the other teams than anyone else on the field.”

Technical director Adrian Newey estimated that stricter rear-wing regulations would cost Red Bull half a million dollars. “It is not a trivial thing.” This is because, in the opinion of competitors, is that Red Bull uses an ingenious trick to make its wing resilient.

On the basis of video recordings, the opponents want to notice that the end panels of the rear spoiler curve inward from 250 km / h and thus retract the main wing down. The secret of controlled bending appears to lie in the carbon structures of the corresponding parts. Red Bull has always been a pioneer and a frontrunner.

Red Bull goes to the extreme when it comes to rules

“Aerodynamic structures can bend at high speed. This is somewhat normal. However, they can also be incorporated into these parts. Red Bull has always exceeded their limits. They were punished for this in Abu Dhabi in 2014.” Mercedes says. At the time, Red Bull drivers had to start out of the pit lane because the front wing flap was too much bent back via “soft contact”.

Sports director Helmut Marco is defending himself against the accusation that manufacturer Brause cars have been driving illegally sometime this season: “In motorsport, it’s about pushing the rules to the extreme. We are paying our engineers for it. Al-Aqsa. We passed all the tests. So our car was also legal. If the tests are tough now, we will respond. “

However, the conversion takes time. Because it is not a normal mechanism that you can expand. You cannot change the carbon structures overnight. This takes time and costs money. The extra half a million dollars would be a handle in the mail pocket in a regular season for Red Bull. But since a budget cap was put in place, every expense not counted twice has been damaged. “It’s an extra penalty,” Horner admits.

Front wing modification is more expensive

So the English threw the front wing theme in the group: “There are images of Imola in which the front wing of Mercedes bends more than ours rear wing. It would only be fair if the FIA ​​applied the same standard to the front wings.” Andreas Seidel, McLaren Team President, will welcome, “We are clean. Every tightening in testing brings us closer to the big teams.”

Red Bull is confident that the Union will also tighten the differential bolts at the front end of the car. What is the cost of building a new front spoiler? Horner reveals “More than half a million. At least by our standards.” So in the competition it will be to inflict the greatest possible damage on the opponent, hesitant.

Andreas Seidel says complaints are being raised at a high level: “Because of the canceled races, the cost ceiling has risen again. The top teams also have more room to breathe again.” In fact, it’s now $ 149.8 million. For cancellations in Canada and Turkey, for races 22 and 23, there was an additional $ 1.2 million each.