With a newly installed engine, Max Verstappen made a memorable comeback in the Formula 1 race in Brazil. At McLaren, however, they ask themselves the question: Was the power unit allowed to be changed easily? The FIA regulations only provide a limited answer to this.
Did Red Bull Racing possibly break the rules in Brazil by changing the engine in Max Verstappen’s RB21? Above all, McLaren wants the FIA to answer this question. The specialist portal “The Race” reports on this.
The background: Since Red Bull replaced the engine purely for performance reasons and not for safety reasons, they at McLaren believe that the cost of the unit must be offset against the budget available to each team, which is strictly limited. If the budget is exceeded, there are severe penalties.
Formula 1 teams interpret the rule differently
The problem: The FIA regulations are not clear on this matter. Some teams, writes “The Race”, are of the opinion that an engine change for performance reasons has to be paid for from the set budget. Other teams have a different opinion. For this reason, McLaren has now demanded an answer from the world association.
“If the engine is changed for performance reasons, it should fall under the cost gap. Let’s wait and see whether that is the case here,” said McLaren team boss Andrea Stella in Brazil. His team has so far firmly assumed this. “And that’s also the reason why we’re not doing it. Because it would come under budget.”
According to “The Race”, neither the FIA nor Red Bull have yet responded to requests for comment.
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Red Bull admits: New engine brings something
It is difficult to say how much time Red Bull ultimately gained per lap with the new engine. However, team boss Laurent Mekies openly admitted in Sao Paulo that the change was made purely for performance reasons and that it definitely made a difference.
“It’s hard to put a number on it, but the gaps are so small that everything matters,” he said.