Red Bull may have gotten the better of McLaren at the US Grand Prix, but Zak Brown has arguably emerged as the winner in the war of words between the two title-contending outfits.
One of the biggest stories of the weekend was Red Bull allegedly cheating, by placing a ‘bib’ device on the front of its car. While teams do use that to adjust height during set-ups, parc ferme regulations prohibit them from installing one on the car during qualifying or the race.
McLaren and other teams accused Red Bull of doing the same, but the FIA cleared them of any wrongdoing. Brown, however, was not going to let this go.
While riding a McLaren supercar around the streets of Austin with Sky Sports presenter Danica Patrick, Brown said, “Oh look, my front is lowering, I’ve got a special front bib on this car.”
Patrick did not take long to figure out what Brown was referring to. She let out a laugh, and partook in the joke, by asking if he was allowed to have it on. “Hey! There’s a police, maybe they are coming after me now,” Brown responded.
Zak Brown wants Red Bull staff to sign an affidavit that they never used the bib device in a way that is outside the regulations
“I’d like to see the senior leadership, the former chief mechanics and the current mechanics sign an affidavit stating that they have never used or… pic.twitter.com/tC2CfujtCk
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) October 20, 2024
The McLaren CEO was one of the most vocal critics when reports surfaced accusing Red Bull of cheating. However, the FIA eventually ruled that the Milton Keynes-based team had not violated any rules. This suggests that Brown’s remarks may have been a futile attempt to keep the accusations against Red Bull alive.
McLaren’s title in danger
Not McLaren, not Red Bull — Ferrari was the best team at the United States GP. Starting P3 and P4, the team achieved a 1-2 finish, its second of the season, thanks to Charles Leclerc’s dominant drive, and Carlos Sainz following him close behind.
Collectively, the Maranello-based team earned 43 points, which brought them to just 48 points behind McLaren, who currently lead the constructors’ standings
With five Grand Prix weekends to go — with two sprint races — Ferrari could trump the Woking-based outfit if it shows similar levels of performance in the coming rounds.
Perhaps Brown’s attention will now shift to Ferrari and whether they might be engaging in any potentially illegal activities.
