McLaren’s Zak Brown demands Red Bull employees sign affidavits to resolve cheating accusations and avoid possible exclusion from Formula 1.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called on Red Bull employees to sign affidavits—a legal document used to attest or confirm information—in an effort to bring an end to accusations of cheating.
During the United States Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull confirmed that it had a system enabling the adjustment of the RB20’s front floor height from the cockpit. However, the team maintained that it had not used the device between qualifying and the race, as doing so would have been illegal.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis admitted that it would be challenging to determine precisely when the system was used in previous events.
In a bid to resolve the issue, Brown has requested that Red Bull staff sign legal documents affirming that the system was never employed in a manner that could be deemed outside the regulations.
“I’d like to see senior management, former chief mechanics, and current mechanics sign an affidavit stating they’ve never used or have no knowledge of its use,” Brown stated.
“A handful of people in the paddock have suggested the device was used in this way, so the only way to settle the matter is to get a document signed, old school, to declare what did or did not happen.”
“I know that if I were presented with a sworn statement, and the consequences of not telling the truth were serious, I would tell the truth.”
Brown also warned that Red Bull should face severe penalties if found guilty of using the device outside the rules.
“There needs to be a deterrent. We’ve seen drivers excluded from races and championships. And just to be clear, I’m not saying Max should be excluded, by the way.”
“We have seen teams excluded from races and championships. If, and I emphasise if, the parc fermé regulations have been breached, the penalty must be of that magnitude, depending on whether it was a one-off or something that occurred regularly over three years. There must be consequences.”
McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella has accepted the ruling from Formula 1’s governing body to close the investigations and is ready to “move on.”
However, Stella added, “In my view, more specifically, when this kind of matter is in the hands of the FIA, in the hands of the technical department, these are competent people. They have more information than we do as teams, and more tools to gather that information. They have the expertise.”
“For me, I simply trust what they do. And if the FIA believes the matter is closed, I take that at face value, I accept it, the matter is closed, and I move on. But I understand Zak’s request to see people from Red Bull, or former staff, provide a sworn statement or something of that nature, confirming the system was never used in parc fermé.”
While prepared to “move on” after the saga, Stella did highlight the curious nature of the difficulty in detecting the modifications Red Bull allegedly made to its front floor.
“Sometimes performance is white, sometimes grey, sometimes black. In this case, if there was a practice of adjusting the front floor in parc fermé, it’s simple—it’s black.”
“But, strangely, it leaves no trace. So, one doesn’t know if it happened or not.”
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McLaren Pushes Red Bull to Swear on Truth Amid F1 Drama McLaren Pushes Red Bull to Swear on Truth Amid F1 Drama
