Has Red Bull been cheating so far this season, and after a sudden loss of performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix, has F1 and the FIA quietly told them to change their car?
Lewis
Lewis Hamilton sparked rumours after qualifying this weekend when he brought attention to how Red Bull has lost pace compared to the rest of the top 5 teams. This is what he said in an interview with Sky Sports F 1:What he’s asking is: has the FIA stepped in and changed something on the RB19. Because it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened.
Lewis
2019 actually saw Max Verstappen accusing Ferrari of cheating and this forced the FIA to open a technical investigation into their power unit. It was eventually revealed that the Scuderia were over-fueling their cars to produce more power, but because it’s Ferrari, who are almost synonymous with the sport, a secret agreement took place between them and the FIA to reel them back in, but no penalties or punishments were dished out . The next year, 2020, saw Ferrari and their customer teams lose so much performance that it was incredibly obvious that something had gone on behind the scenes, despite the then team principal Mattia Binotto denying everything. With Red Bull, it’s the DRS advantage that makes them so, so fast. But according to Hamilton, they haven’t got that anymore, proven by the fact he outqualified both cars in a slower Mercedes W14 for the first time this season.
Lewis
Joined with the fact that Verstappen’s number one car had random checks performed on it after the British Grand Prix, fans, drivers, and pundits are wondering whether the FIA have stepped i n.