FIA reaches conclusion after thorough Red Bull investigation

Red Bull has been cleared of any impropriety following a thorough investigation by the FIA into allegations the team was illegally using a device to adjust the ride height of its cars in between qualifying and grands prix.

Red Bull found itself in the spotlight ahead of the United States Grand Prix following the revelation of a system that adjusts the front-bib clearance of its RB20.

Otherwise known as the T-tray, the system sits at the front and in the middle of the floor of a car. Ideally, teams prefer a lower ride height for qualifying and for it to run slightly higher during a grand prix.

Under parc fermé rules, it is illegal to adjust the ride height of a car in between a qualifying session and a race.

The device came to light after the race in Singapore, apparently via open-source component documents the teams provide to the FIA about the design of their cars.

This alerted Red Bull's rivals, sparking conversations with the FIA, which resulted in motorsport's governing body deciding to "implement procedural adjustments to ensure that the front-bib clearance cannot be easily modified. In some cases, this may involve the application of a seal to provide further assurance of compliance.”

This was done with immediate effect for the race in Austin.

Since then, and following the culimaintion of the recent triple-header that also included Mexico and Brazil, FIA staff have visited the team's headquarters in Milton Keynes and thoroughly inspected the team's cars.

An FIA statement read: "The FIA regularly reviews and inspects the conformance to the technical, sporting and financial regulations of the F1 teams, and this may involve spot-checks at the circuit or inspections and investigations at the teams' factories.

"Similarly, it is the prerogative of the F1 teams to bring to the attention of the FIA any concerns about the compliance of their competitors' with the regulations, and this phenomenon is clearly intensified in championships where there may be closer competition for the ultimate prize, as has been the case in 2024.

"The FIA takes any such issues very seriously and seeks to investigate them in addition to all the regular checks it carries out during a race weekend and beyond.

"As part of this assessment process, FIA technical representatives visited the Red Bull Racing headquarters to investigate in-depth recent allegations about their front floor design and its use.

"This investigation concluded that no breach has taken place, and therefore confirmed the position adopted by the FIA during the US Grand Prix in Austin.”