FIA factory investigation clears Red Bull over front bib allegations

A detailed investigation by FIA staff who visited Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory has concluded that the squad did not use its controversial front bib adjuster in an illegal manner, Motorsport.com can reveal.

Red Bull had found itself at the centre of intrigue in recent weeks over a tool it had tucked away in its car to raise and lower its tea tray.

Rival teams were concerned that the adjuster could have been used to alter the height of its front bib between qualifying and the race – which would be a breach of parc ferme rules.

When the issue first erupted ahead of the United States Grand Prix, the FIA moved quickly to add a seal to the device so that it could not be adjusted once the cars were in parc ferme.

But that did not stop questions from some rivals who felt that potential historical use of the system needed looking at to be sure that Red Bull had not broken the rules in the past.

The FIA insisted however that there was no evidence it had been used illegally and that it would be difficult to try to check on previous use over the past couple of years.

Its single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said in Austin: “To go and retroactively actually prove exactly what has happened before is difficult, and we don’t think we have the ability to go and investigate two years’ worth of situation.

“I mean, honestly, can I say with complete certainty about whether there’s ever been anything irregular? No. Can I say that the matter is closed? Yes, absolutely.”

That was not enough to quell the concerns from Red Bull’s competitors though, with both McLaren and Mercedes expressing unhappiness over the situation and urging the FIA to do more to be certain that nothing untoward had taken place.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown called on the FIA to interview Red Bull staff to dig deeper into the matter, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he anticipated intervention from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Asked about the FIA’s initial claim of it being a ‘closed’ matter, Wolff said: “I cannot speak for the FIA at all. I cannot speak for Nikolas. Obviously, that’s something that’s been not spotted for a long time.

“But I think the leadership of the FIA is going to look at that, and say, ‘What are we doing with this?'”

Following this lobbying, it is understood that the FIA duly agreed after the Brazilian Grand Prix to launch a more formal investigation to be…