Red Bull latest investigation is a ‘non-story’ for the FIA

Since 2021 the Red Bull team has been dominating Formula 1, however, every year they are part of an investigation accused of not following the FIA regulations. The most recent episode dominating the spotlight during the Austin GP was the front bib adjuster, which the team claimed was not used. The FIA closed the case after further investigation.

Red Bull admitted that it had a dispositive that would have allowed the team to change the RB20 height a couple days before the race weekend. Firstly, the other teams and the FIA believed that it was an electronic system that would allow the height to change remotely or even by the driver. Further, it was understood that it’s a mechanic system, and to change it, someone needs to remove the car nose and access the cockpit.

All the cars have a front bib adjuster for the car height, but only the RB20 has a different design that is accessed through inside the car. For that reason, the other teams suspect a regulation break. The FIA investigated if this bib was used between qualifying and the race while the cars are in the ‘parc fermé’ system. During this period, the team’s members are not allowed to touch the car, except under the supervision of a race stewards.

Still, the government body acknowledges that it was impossible to confirm that the device in RB20 was never illegally used. Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single-seaters, agreed that even looking in the CCTV garage cameras would not give any evidence: “If you have to dismount the whole bodywork and do 50 things, then obviously it would be visible in the camera. But on something as simple and as quick as that, I don’t think you can realistically check that on cameras or virtual images or so on.”

The FIA decided to use tags in the components to make sure Red Bull is not using the device while it’s not allowed. Now, the team will need to change the front bib design to the São Paulo Grand Prix, in two weeks.