Barcelona (AP) – The Formula 1 racing team Red Bull wants to pursue the copying allegations against Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin team. “We will look into the matter in detail,” said Red Bulls motorsport consultant Helmut Marko on Sky.
“You now have to clarify how this incredible copy came about.” In the first practice session before the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday (3 p.m. / Sky), the English carmaker Aston Martin took to the track in Barcelona with a completely revised car. Vettel’s and Canadian Lance Stroll’s new company car looked a lot like World Champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. “Copying is not forbidden in the beginning,” said Marko, but also noted: “There is evidence that data was downloaded.”
The spicy thing about the case: Aston Martin had poached several employees from Red Bull last year, including the important chief aerodynamicist Dan Fallows. According to Marko, the Brit switched sides for a “disproportionate fee”. “The sums that are used here are incomprehensible,” said Marko and made clear allegations against Aston Martin. In total, seven key engineers switched from Red Bull to Aston Martin.
Aston Martin’s team boss Mike Krack left the allegations in the paddock cold. Instead, Vettel’s boss referred to an investigation by the Fia. The world motorsport association had carefully examined the new aerodynamic parts and came to the conclusion that no rules had been violated.