A key figure at Red Bull has strongly denied claims that the team had to remove a design feature from its cars.

The Milton Keynes-based team made a perfect start to 2024, taking consecutive one-two finishes in the first two races of the season.

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Max Verstappen has remained in largely excellent form since then, although both drivers have won at McLaren, FerrariAnd Mercedes have shown how Red Bull’s lead has shrunk, if not disappeared completely.

One reporter suggested that the order to remove a “clever” design element from the cars could have damaged the team, but a Red Bull representative strongly denied this.

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Red Bull has dominated F1’s “Ground Effect” era since 2022, winning both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in both full seasons since the rule change.

This year, Verstappen seems to have his fourth title in his pocket, but their lead as a team over McLaren is only 42 points.

Red Bull’s gap to the other teams seemed relatively stable until the Miami Grand Prix. Lando Norris Won.

Including this race, Red Bull has won just three of the last nine events, although Verstappen’s only blemish in the first five races was a mechanical failure in Australia.

Now F1 reporter Peter Windsor wrote that Red Bull was instructed to remove a design feature before the race in Florida.

He told X: “Looks like RBR (Red Bull Racing) used a clever inertia valve for the rear cross brake before they had to remove it before Miami.

“This could explain Max’s drama with the RR brake (rear right) in MEL (Melbourne, where he retired with a smoking rear brake) and his problems with turning since China.”

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Verstappen complained loudly on the team radio about problems with the balance and steering of the car, especially given the fact that the three-time world champion was hardly able to score any victories anymore.

In Hungary, the Dutchman complained: “I have a brake bias of minus five and the thing just doesn’t turn. It’s unbelievable.”

Red Bull’s alleged “lateral braking inertia valve” could have enabled asymmetric braking, which is banned in recent changes to the sport’s regulations, according to the FIA, the sport’s governing body.

It is unclear whether Red Bull benefited from this technique. Calum Nicholas, a mechanic who has been with Red Bull since 2015, denied claims that the team had been instructed to remove such a valve.

“Yeah, that’s rubbish, not surprising,” he replied to Windsor’s post. When asked why he thought that, Nicholas added: “I built the car for the last 14 races.”

Nicholas is one of the better-known engineers on the grid due to his presence on social media and often engages with fans on F1 and other topics.

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