"Broom style in the car"

“Smear theater by Red Bull” makes Wolff rage

Toto Wolff hopes that the Bib affair will not simply disappear into thin air.

(Bild: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Dan Istitene)

Although the FIA has declared the Bib affair at Red Bull to be "over", the case is still causing a stir in Formula 1. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, for example, is furious about the "smear show" that Red Bull has put on. His hope: "I guess the FIA management will take a look at this."  

Before the race weekend in Austin, rumors were circulating within the premier class that Red Bull had found a way to adjust the height of the front part of their car's underbody (known as the bib) between qualifying and the race. This would be sophisticated cheating, which is why the International Automobile Federation (FIA) felt compelled to take action.

The racing team was finally investigated. Red Bull employees finally demonstrated to several FIA inspectors how complex such an adjustment would be with the available resources, reports "motorsport-total.com". This was intended to refute the accusations. For the FIA, the demonstration was apparently convincing. Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA's head of formula racing, subsequently declared the Bib affair closed.

Affair not over after all?
But the issue cannot be dismissed so easily for the other teams. After McLaren boss Zak Brown had already expressed his criticism, Mercedes team boss Wolff has now gone one better and is less than enthusiastic about the "smear show" at Red Bull: "This demonstration was really great. The way they held the real broomstick in the car to show that this is the only way to fake it. I wonder how long it took to build that," said the Austrian with a sarcastic undertone.

Are Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and his people in for something after all?

(Bild: AFP/CHRISTIAN BRUNA)

But that's not all: "I just wasn't aware that we use such bugs bunny devices in Formula 1," Wolff adds and finally emphasizes: "It's not enough to make a promise not to do it again. After all, Red Bull has declared that it will be competing with an adapted car at the next but one race in Brazil. "I can't speak for the FIA or for Nikolas. But it's something that went unnoticed for a long time. I guess the FIA management will take a look at it and consider what to do next," Wolff concludes.