Lando Norris says the controversial ride height device that forced Red Bull to change its cars may have helped Max Verstappen gain a decisive advantage in the championship race.
Red Bull confirmed on Thursday it had agreed plans to make changes to the RB20 following talks with the FIA and the sport’s governing body ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
Rival teams suspected that Red Bull’s device would allow them to alter the car’s ride height to their advantage via a ‘bib’ at the front of the floor in restricted ‘parc ferme’ conditions, which would breach sporting regulations.
Red Bull confirmed the existence of this device but claimed that it cannot be used for any other purpose as it cannot be used while the car is fully assembled.
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So far in 2024, all the best moments from the Max Verstappen vs Lando Norris title battle remain, with six race weekends still remaining.
Before Red Bull commented, the FIA said it had “received no indication of teams using these systems”, but using such devices is against the rules.
“It’s one thing to put it in the car, it’s another thing to utilize it and how much to use it. We don’t know anything about it,” said Norris, who is sixth in the drivers’ standings, 52 points behind Verstappen. Remaining rounds of the 2024 season.
“If it helps them, if people leveraged it in the way they think it will, maybe it will change in our direction.
“But if you say that, you won’t be able to get multiple pole positions or wins because of that equipment.
“I don’t think this will change anything in the scheme of things. Maybe in a particular qualifying session, when it was split into hundredths and thousandths, it was like, ‘Okay, maybe this helped in this direction or that direction. You might say, ‘I don’t know.’
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Lando Norris says McLaren has more confidence going into the US GP than it did in Singapore.
The controversy follows McLaren being asked by the FIA to change the car’s ‘Mini DRS’ rear wing device after last month’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris followed up with a landslide victory in Singapore the following week.
“I think it’s a good thing that the FIA is doing that,” Norris added.
“There is a difference between black and white work like this, and there is a difference between F1 and pushing the boundaries and creating something new, innovating within a space where innovation is allowed.
“That’s what we at McLaren have done a great job of, but I’m not sure we’ve gone further than that.”
Verstappen: The device does not affect performance.
Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez claimed that the device does not offer any advantage as it cannot be used once the car is fully assembled, echoing the team’s claims in previous statements.
“Yes, it exists, but it is not accessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to drive,” a Red Bull spokesperson said in a statement released Thursday morning.
“This came up in a lot of our correspondence with the FIA and we agreed on a plan going forward.”
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Max Verstappen says he is not worried about Red Bull having to make changes to its car ahead of this weekend’s US GP due to the ride height device ban.
The FIA previously said it would implement “procedural adjustments to ensure that front bib clearance cannot be easily modified” at this weekend’s sprint event in Austin.
Details of the Red Bull design features were made available to other teams on the FIA servers, following regulations regarding open source parts.
When asked about the reaction within the team to the situation, Verstappen said: “There’s nothing. It’s open source, right? Anyone can see it.
“For us, it was just a simple tool that was easy to adjust when the parts were removed. But once the whole car is assembled, you can’t touch it with your hands. So for us, that doesn’t change…
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Lewis Hamilton believes rules should be better policed after Red Bull confirmed its cars had controversial ride height adjusters.
“As I was reading it, I thought, ‘Are other teams doing this too?’ Then I realized it was relevant to our team. It wasn’t even mentioned in the briefing, it was just a tool that was easier to adjust.”
When asked if the device affected his performance, Verstappen replied “No”.
Perez added, “We didn’t do anything about it. We never actually talked about it. It was impossible.”
“I knew it existed, but we couldn’t take advantage of it.”
Norris is confident in Verstappen as he looks forward to the impact of the upgrade.
With tensions running high for almost a month since Norris’ stunning victory in Singapore, the debate surrounding the resumption of the title fight has intensified.
It’s ominous for Red Bull and the rest of the field, but Norris said expectations for McLaren are higher than they were at the Marina Bay circuit.
“I probably feel more confident.” said the Englishman. “If you look at where we were here last year, I think this was a better weekend for the car we had compared to Singapore.
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Jenson Button tells us which car he would like to drive at the start and end of the 2024 season between McLaren and Red Bull.
“We led the first half of the race. It was a good weekend. There are always questions to be answered at this track because there are some changes due to the new surface.
“With our performance in races three, four and five last year, we are confident we can come out on top.”
Verstappen hopes Red Bull can present a bigger challenge to McLaren than in Singapore, where Norris won by more than 20 seconds, but admitted he does not expect the upgrade to the RB20 to “completely change” the recent standings.
“If you look at the speed difference in Singapore, that’s definitely not the case (upgrades alone won’t keep up with the McLaren),” said the Dutchman.
“But every track is different. We know that Singapore is not our strongest track anyway. But we don’t expect that suddenly the track will be completely different and we will be the dominant car.
“We’ve already had some limitations with this car all year. Now we’re trying to make it better, but I don’t expect it to completely shake up.”
Live US GP schedule on Sky Sports F1
Friday, October 18
6pm: US GP Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm*)
8:30 PM: Team leader press conference
10:00 PM: US GP Sprint Qualifying (Qualifying starts at 10:30 PM*)
Saturday, October 19th
6pm: Building the US GP sprint
7pm: US GP Sprint
8:30 PM: Ted’s sprint notes
10 PM: Preparing for US GP Qualifying*
11pm: US GP Qualifying*
(Sunday) 1am: Ted’s Qualifying Notes
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Take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the United States Grand Prix.
Sunday, October 20th
6:30 PM: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP Strengthens*
8 p.m.: United States Grand Prix*
10 PM: Checkered Flag: US GP Reaction
11 PM: Ted’s Notes
*Also shown live on Sky Sports Main Event (race build-up from 7.15pm on Sunday)
There are just six races left in Formula 1 in 2024, with the season resuming from this Friday with a sprint weekend at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. There is no contract and you can cancel at any time.
