Red Bull file FIA complaint over McLaren trick - report

Red Bull has been the dominant force in Formula 1 in recent years, but recently has had to deal with a lot of opposition from McLaren and Mercedes. That makes the various top teams look at innovations from the other with suspicion. 

Flexible front wings have been a regular topic of discussion recently, but Red Bull also recently complained about McLaren's brakes, according to Auto, Motor und Sport.

The team from Woking is said to be using extra holes in the brake drums at the front and rear. Teams use sensors to collect information about the temperature of the rims and tires, but Red Bull suspected that McLaren had created an extra cooling hole, which would violate regulations. 

According to the publication, the extra hole would give access to a cable for a sensor that measures the temperature inside the brake cylinder aerator.

Red Bull's suspicion was fuelled by the fact that Lando Norris came out very strong in Miami, Imola and Spain, where he kept his tyres alive better than Max Verstappen. Would the information from the holes and sensors help?

The regulations state that sensors may indeed be placed in the brake drums during free practice on Friday, then the holes must be closed on Saturday and Sunday. 

According to Red Bull, however, McLaren's holes sometimes remained open during the races, but the FIA did not go along with that. 

The motorsport federation checked the McLarens and it turned out that the team had taped off the holes in Austria and Britain. 

Whether McLaren did so after Red Bull's complaint or the FIA's checks is not known. The fact that Red Bull has reportedly filed a complaint does show the extent to which the fight has flared up.