Mark Hughes, a well-known British journalist and expert, commented in his own way on the situation surrounding a cunning system that would allow Red Bull Racing to change the ride height of the car in a closed park..
Okay, after two days of sensational statements and sharp denials, there is finally clarity in the story with the height of the bottom of the Red Bull car.
Let me explain the facts so you can draw your own conclusions.
Having the ability to change the front height between qualifying and the race will give you a significant speed increase in qualifying mode. Especially in the case of modern machines that use ground effect.
The last few millimeters of small clearance between the bottom and the surface of the track can significantly increase the energy level of the processes taking place beneath the bottom. But if the ground clearance is too low during the race, the wear of the control rod will exceed the allowable 10%, and such a violation will result in disqualification.
But also changing the bottom settings between qualifying and the race.
In the design of the RB20, unlike the cars of other teams, there are two mechanisms that allow you to change the height of the bottom. You can access the traditional system from under the car, but there is an additional option to do this from the cockpit.
The first system is used to adjust settings, for example during a training session. The second is used to fine-tune the interaction between the underbody and the chassis when a new version of the underbody is installed.
To do this, you need to remove the nose cone, disassemble the rider’s footrest in the area of the pedals, after which one of the mechanics is inserted head first into the cockpit, while the other stands above the bow, armed with a adjustment tool. His colleague who operates in the cockpit estimates by eye how to act and gives commands to what is outside.
This mechanism has been part of the design of all Red Bull cars for at least three years and is mentioned in FIA documents that are publicly available, i.e. included in the list of parts for which teams must provide drawings so that others can copy them if they wish .
A similar rule appeared in the regulations as a measure aimed at reducing costs, even as the ‘hybrid’ era in Formula 1 began.
The crux of the question from McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown is this: could it be that the mechanic who puts himself in the cockpit in front of the FIA representative, ostensibly to adjust the seat belts, is actually adjusting the ride height ?
Well, the answer seems rather obvious: an FIA observer would certainly ask the question: why is there a second mechanic standing next to the car with an adjustment tool?
Actually that’s all. This literally puts an end to the story that “Red Bull was caught cheating.”
In all this there are clear signs of the psychological warfare that begins as the title fight intensifies, and this is McLaren’s response to Red Bull’s suspicions after Baku that the MCL38 cars would supposedly have “mini-DRS”.
It’s frustrating that such ambiguous situations make no sense from a sporting point of view, but they work quite well as a theatrical device that draws extra attention to the show.
Now it will be a fact in the history of the championship that Red Bull was caught breaking the closed park rules. Which in fact did not happen, and this can be explained categorically. However, should we let the truth ruin such great stories?
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
