Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack has played down the fuss over the outfit's Spanish Grand Prix update package, describing it as a "little" change. Aston Martin have introduced a host of new parts for this weekend's event in Barcelona, including a new floor body, fences and edges, and changes to the engine cover, cooling louvres, rear wing, sidepod inlets and Halo. The modifications, particularly in terms of the sidepods and engine cover, immediately drew comparisons to the front-running Red Bull RB18. However, after investigating Aston Martin's new features - which "resembled those of another competitor" - the FIA cleared the team of any wrongdoing.
Krack explains Aston Martin's "little" update
Asked for his take on the situation, and the reaction in the paddock, Krack explained Aston Martin's thinking with their latest raft of upgrades. "You will remember when we had the launch of the car, [we were] already mentioning that we had built in some flexibility in the car, to be able to develop along the journey, and this is what we have done," Krack told Sky Sports F1 . "From that point of view, it was just a normal development process. "We had all the porpoising difficulties with the other spec car, and we said at one point we need to change, we need to make a little update here, and that's what we did in the end."
What have Red Bull said about the Aston Martin?
Red Bull chiefs Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were both quick to question Aston Martin's actions. Horner has described the new AMR22 as a "clone" of the RB18, while Marko claimed "there is evidence that data was downloaded". Red Bull also released an official statement, confirming that they had noted the FIA's comments "with interest". "While imitation is the greatest form of flattery, any replication of design would obviously need to comply with the FIA's rules around 'Reverse Engineering'," read the statement. "However, should any transfer of IP have taken place, that would clearly be a breach of regulations and would be a serious concern." Horner later confirmed that Red Bull will be conducting an internal investigation to rule out a possible "criminal offence".
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