McLaren CEO Zak Brown has asked Red Bull employees to sign affidavits (a legal document used to attest or confirm information) to put an end to accusations of cheating.
During the United States Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull confirmed that it had a device allowing it to change the height of the RB20’s front floor from the cockpit. Red Bull insisted it did not use the device between qualifying and the Grand Prix because it would be illegal.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis conceded it would be difficult to analyze when it was specifically used at previous events.
In an attempt to put an end to the matter, Brown had Red Bull staff sign legal documents stating that the system was never used in a way that could be considered outside the regulations.
"I would like to see senior management, former chief mechanics and current mechanics sign an affidavit stating that they have never used or have any knowledge of its use," a lancé Brown.
“A handful of people in the pit lane have suggested that the device was used in this way, so the only way to deal with the problem is to put out a document to sign, the old-fashioned way, to indicate what happened. past or not.”
“I know that if I was presented with an affidavit and the consequences of not telling the truth were serious, I would tell the truth.”
Brown warned that Red Bull would face a severe penalty if found guilty of acting outside the regulations with the device.
“It has to be a deterrent. We’ve seen drivers excluded from races and championships. And I’m not saying Max should be excluded, by the way.”
“We have seen teams excluded from races and championships. If, and I mean if, the parc ferme rules have been broken, the penalty should be of this magnitude, depending on whether they have done it once or only once. “They did it regularly for three years. There must be consequences.”
McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella has accepted the Formula 1 governing body’s verdict to close the investigations and is ready to “move on”.
Stella, however, stated that “my point of view more precisely, when this kind of subject is in the hands of the FIA, of the technical department, they are competent people, with more information than we have as teams, and more tools to acquire more information than us. They have the expertise.
“For me, I just trust what they are doing. And if the FIA thinks the case is closed, I take it at face value, I accept it, the case is closed and I move on to something else. But I understand Zak’s request to see people from Red Bull or veterans certify on their honor or whatever that this system has never been used in parc ferme.”
If he is ready to “move on” after the saga, Stella highlighted the curious nature of the difficulty in detecting the changes Red Bull made to its front floor.
“Sometimes this performance is white, sometimes gray, sometimes black. In this case, if there was a practice of adjusting the front floor in parc ferme, in this case it’s simple, it’s black.”
“But, oddly enough, it leaves no trace. So it’s unclear whether it happened or not.”
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