Fred Vasseur on T-Tray case: "If Red Bull changed setup in parc fermé, it's more than cheating"

10/19/2024 06:03 AM

The Red Bull T-Tray case
The United States Grand Prix weekend started with exciting and unpredictable Sprint Qualifying right up until the final moments of Q3. However, in the Austin paddock, there's ongoing discussion about the alleged irregularity of the system Red Bull supposedly devised to modify the front ride height of the car’s floor. Frederic Vasseur also touched on this when speaking to Sky after the Sprint Qualifying, which determined the starting grid for the first mini-race scheduled for 8:00 PM CET today.

Frederic Vasseur’s comments
“Honestly,” said Ferrari's team principal, “I don't know the details of the whole story, but without a doubt, it's not allowed to change the setup between qualifying and the race. If it did happen, it's more than cheating; it would be huge. But I don't know if Red Bull actually did it. However, I think the FIA has all the tools to know, as they can talk to the people involved to understand whether it’s just a device to modify the car before the weekend or if it’s actually being used between qualifying and the race.” – the French manager pointed out.

Frederic Vasseur then responded to whether it might be theoretically advantageous to push beyond the regulations, given the generally light response from the Federation: “We are always on the edge of the regulations. But previously, people talked about the rear wing in Baku (referring to McLaren, editor’s note), which to me wasn't legal, and now there’s talk of changing the car’s setup between qualifying and the race, which is also not legal. We don't want to go beyond the limit, and I'm not saying Red Bull did, but if that were the case, it would be totally illegal, and I wouldn't want to be in that position.” – the Ferrari team boss continued.

“It's hard to comment,” Frederic Vasseur concluded, “because I don't know exactly what happened, and you always have to distinguish between rumors and reality. But the FIA can talk to the people from the team or those who were part of it in the past. It's certainly illegal to change the setup between qualifying and the race and to design devices that change the setup between qualifying and the race.”

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