Max Verstappen is adamant the ride-height adjustment device on his Red Bull which has resulted in a clampdown by the FIA ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix offers no performance advantage.
Red Bull has found itself in the spotlight in Austin on F1's return from an autumnal break following the revelation of a system that adjusts the front-bib clearance of its RB20, allowing the ride height to be changed in between qualifying and a race.
Otherwise known as the T-tray, it 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.
The device came to light after the last race in Singapore almost four weeks ago, 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 has 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.”
Verstappen, who goes into this weekend's race in Austin with a 52-point lead over main championship rival Lando Norris, insists the furore is nothing more than a storm in a teacup.
Asked as to what was happening, the three-time F1 champion replied: "Nothing. I mean, it's open-source, right? Everyone can see it. For us, it was just an easy tool, when the parts were off, it was easy to adjust.
"But once the whole car is built together, you can't touch it. So for us, it doesn't change....when I read it, I was thinking about other teams doing it, and then I found out it was related to our team.
"We never even mentioned it in the briefing. So it's just an easier tool to adjust that."
Asked of Verstappen whether it had any impact on performance, he succinctly replied: "No."
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