The war of words between Red Bull and Mercedes is escalating, as the furore regarding the 'flexi-wing' scandal continues. Dr. Helmut Marko has confirmed that Red Bull intend to lodge a counter-protest against Mercedes, if the Brackley-based team follow through on recent threats to protest Red Bull. The situation is that the FIA has introduced a Technical Directive to clamp down on the flexing of wings, with more stringent tests being introduced from June 15. However, this means that teams running these 'flexi-wings' can still run their current designs for the Azerbaijan GP, knowing that they will pass the current tests. According to Motorsport-Total.com, Marko has confirmed that Red Bull will lodge a protest against Mercedes if Wolff follows through on his threat to protest against Red Bull if the championship leaders run their flexible rear wing in Baku. The legal grey area opened up by the delayed introduction of the more stringent testing has infuriated Mercedes, leading to the threats. Wolff's comments have also led to veiled threats from Red Bull that they would protest against Mercedes for the W12's flexible front wing. Marko is quoted as saying the threat is 'a bit strange. The FIA has decided that the rules for testing and, above all, for torsion resistance will be changed. That applies from Paul Ricard onwards.' Marko explained that Red Bull see this as a 'very clear statement and regulation' and that the RB16B is 'like many other cars, approved by the FIA as classified as compliant with the rules'.
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