FIA: Red Bull bib adjustor, tyre water cooling matters closed

Over the course of the 2024 US Grand Prix weekend in Austin, Red Bull Racing were under the spotlight due to the location of their front bib adjustor, which could've meant the defending constructors' champions can alter the ride height of their car illegally between qualifying and the race, thus violating parc ferme conditions.

The FIA investigated the device in Austin and sealed it so Red Bull could not use it and additionally confirmed there was no foul play, but that apparently wasn't enough for rivals, especially McLaren and Mercedes.

Now, Motorsport.com revealed the FIA conducted a visit to Red Bull Racing's factory in Milton Keynes to investigate the matter of their tea tray height adjustor further and have given the team the all clear.

The FIA said in a statement said: "The FIA regularly reviews and inspects the conformance to the technical, sporting and financial regulations of the F1 teams, and this may involve spot-checks at the circuit or inspections and investigations at the teams' factories.

"Similarly, it is the prerogative of the F1 teams to bring to the attention of the FIA any concerns about the compliance of their competitors' with the regulations, and this phenomenon is clearly intensified in championships where there may be closer competition for the ultimate prize, as has been the case in 2024.

"The FIA takes any such issues very seriously and seeks to investigate them in addition to all the regular checks it carries out during a race weekend and beyond."

In addition to the ride height saga, another controversy erupted over the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend regarding doubts that some teams are cooling their tyres, having found a way to inject water or some form of cooling fluid along with the air or nitrogen used to inflate them.

The FIA said, in the same statement, that further investigations conducted in the matter also revealed that there was no wrongdoing in that regard.

The FIA added: "In parallel, the FIA investigated during the last Grand Prix in Brazil recent allegations that competitors may have used water to manage overheating of tyres. No evidence was found to suggest any irregular behaviour.

"We consider both matters closed, but will continue to monitor the situation in detail," the statement concluded.