Red Bull submit 'unofficial' request to FIA over Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's cars
Red Bull have spoken to the FIA about the Mercedes cars provided to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Red Bull have reportedly made an 'unofficial request' to the governing body FIA to examine the Mercedes cars provided to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Formula1uno claim that the Silver Arrows' front wing is set to undergo examination, under the supervision of Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan, as Christian Horner's outfit aim to decipher why the chasing pack has caught up to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
The request was submitted to the FIA technical office to monitor the flexing at the W15’s front wing and nose after recent upgrades to Russell's and then Hamilton's W15.
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Russell's car first saw the upgrade introduced in Monaco, before Hamilton received the same package at the Canadian Grand Prix. The junior Mercedes driver battled alongside Verstappen and the two McLarens in Montreal and was disappointed not to have won the race.
Though the Mercedes front wing has always been within legal limits during the FIA’s static checks, Red Bull have asked for a closer look as teams can activate flexing at certain load ranges during laps.
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It is not the first time such an ask has been made of Red Bull. In 2021, senior advisor Helmut Marko confirmed: "We have made the FIA aware that they should look into this," over concerns that Mercedes were breaching the regulations' limit.
"This is a completely normal procedure. If you are of the opinion that another team is over-stretching the regulations and a grey area is going into the red, you have to clarify things. We rely on the FIA's verdict and the measures that the world association then takes. If there is clarification, we will be satisfied."
There are similar fears three years later from Red Bull, that Mercedes the front wing of the new specification W15 flexes more compared to the initial specification, though the FIA will determine if any infringements have been made after the unofficial request.
Though publicly, Horner was unbothered by Mercedes' improvements as he taunted Silver Arrows technical director James Allison. “Even with our downgrade, we managed to beat their upgrade,” he said. “It was a rewarding race to win. The last couple of races have been more choppy waters for us but we have still managed to win two out of the last three races.
“We had a pole in Imola, we managed to match the pole time here with a car that both drivers are feeling its deficiencies. So there is a lot of focus on that to see if we can improve that.”
