Brown should follow Wolff's example after Red Bull allegations
Column
- Ludo van Denderen
The FIA has finally put an end to all rumours: Red Bull Racing have not been using a clever way to adjust the car's ride height with the front bib, according to the motorsport federation. A victory for the Austrians, which will taste extra sweet as rival McLaren suffered a narrow defeat here. After all the fuss, it is now up to McLaren CEO Zak Brown to be a man.
Of course, in Formula 1, the stakes are enormous. Therefore, in the battle for victories and world titles, no opportunity is missed to destabilise the competition. Mercedes do it, Red Bull do it, so as Ferrari and certainly McLaren. The latter team were forced to modify their rear wing during the season after complaints from Red Bull and Ferrari.
Was complaining about the bib some form of seeking revenge? The fact is that, first of all, stories appeared anonymously where 'other teams' accused Red Bull of using the bib not according to the rules - to be more precise, the front bib ride height. Only after the FIA announced that there was no evidence that the Austrians were indeed using this trick did Zak Brown step forward.
Brown verbally lashed out several times
First, he stated in the media that he was absolutely certain that Red Bull could remotely adjust the ride height of the car. He then went a step further. "I'd like to see the senior leadership, the former chief mechanics and the current mechanics sign an affidavit stating that they have never used or have no knowledge of it being used."
Again, in Formula 1, no team are averse to making life difficult for their competitors off the track. In this case, Brown has gone a step too far and is now looking a bit like a fool. In all his statements and accusations, an essential element was missing: The hard evidence that Red Bull had indeed put a foot wrong. It was just mudslinging and accusations.
Wolff shows how it should be done
It would suit Brown to apologise to Red Bull. In doing so, he should follow the example of Toto Wolff, the team principal and CEO of Mercedes. This week of all days, the Austrian stated in the High Performance podcast that you have to dare to admit mistakes and apologise when you were wrong. Wolff was referring to the aftermath of Max Verstappen's accident after making contact with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix.
In Formula 1 it is not normal to say 'sorry'. But it shows Wolff being classy. Zak Brown should take an example from that.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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