The Spa event faced many controversial consequences. The rain, the points awarded, the race not a race – a lot has happened. The drama continues – Red Bull has reportedly filed a complaint against its rivals. Red Bull claims the cooling system used by Mercedes over the weekend is illegal under FIA regulations.
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Once again, the teams agree with each other. Michael Schmidt explained via video: “Red Bull has claimed to have filed a complaint [about Mercedes’ power unit] Ferrari should also be involved in the FIA, [but] they don’t say anything about that. “
The F1 reporter stated that Red Bull believes Mercedes put temperature sensors in its car. This could help the chassis pass the temperature tests conducted by the FIA.
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While Schmidt could not confirm the allegations, he explained Mercedes’ point of view. “Apparently Mercedes has a trick that is initially legal. You somehow manage to cool the air in the plenary [air distribution area of an engine], at least in the acceleration phase, and that gives significantly more horsepower in this phase, [but] not so much towards the end. “
Formula 1 F1 – Great Britain Grand Prix – Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Great Britain – July 18, 2021 Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Max Verstappen of Red Bull during the REUTERS / Peter Cziborra race
Nevertheless, Schmidt also stated that Mercedes would not do anything illegal if there was no further news.
New fight between Red Bull and Mercedes?
The reporter explains that the “trick” is for Mercedes to generate extra horsepower from their PU. This is possible by cooling the air generated by the car when it accelerates. As a result, the Milton Keynes team believe it is giving its rivals the upper hand as the cooler air temperature is against FIA regulations.
Schmidt made it clear: “I think the trick is legal, but it’s about where the sensors measure the temperatures in the plenary because only a certain temperature is allowed.”
The rule book says: “The air temperature of the engine plenum (as defined in line 4 of Appendix 2 of these regulations) must be more than ten degrees Celsius above the ambient temperature.” According to Red Bull, Mercedes sensors are located where it is warm enough .
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Mercedes has claimed that there is no extra power; Red Bull and Ferrari believe differently. They suspect that the power is distributed differently in the W12, which helps the team in slow corners.
Formula 1 F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 20, 2021 Max Verstappen from Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes in action REUTERS / Yves Herman
The Honda PU has helped Red Bull massively this season, which has led Mercedes to roll out major updates to its car. Since the British GP, the team has made up for the drawbacks of the earlier laps.
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While we don’t know how far the argument will go, it certainly adds to the drama surrounding the titles. A tense environment surrounds the two teams and that and it will only increase. In the last lap it is decided whose performance on and off the track has triumphed.
Check out this story: Biggest crashes from 2020 with Leclerc, Vettel & Grosjean
The post REPORTS: Red Bull files complaint against Mercedes F1 PU “Trick” first appeared on monter-une-startup.
