Red Bull deny 'not legal' comments about new Mercedes

Red Bull have denied that Team Principal Christian Horner questioned the legality of the new aero package on Mercedes' W13.

The Silver Arrows set tongues wagging throughout the paddock with a new 'sidepod-less' version of the W13 for this week's pre-season test in Bahrain, featuring much slimmer sidepods than were seen on the car during last month’s test in Barcelona.

Narrow cooling inlets replace the larger, square intakes seen throughout the Barcelona test, with the side mirrors and some additional fins now mounted to 'wings' above where the bulk of the sidepods would normally sit.

Red Bull deny Horner comments

"The new Mercedes violates the spirit of the regulations. For us, some parts are not legal," Horner was quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

However, Red Bull moved quickly to deny that Horner had issued the comments.

A team statement read: "Christian Horner has not given any interviews regarding Mercedes' car. Any quotes being attributed to him this morning are incorrect."

All the 2022 cars must pass a series of checks by the FIA in order to race, and the sport's governing body have given no indication that the Mercedes W13 is under investigation.