As emotions in the 2024 Formula One championship rise, McLaren’s Lando Norris has spoken out on the controversy surrounding Red Bull’s ride-height device, which has come under fire ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Norris claimed the device could have given Red Bull a modest competitive advantage, but he stopped short of saying it dramatically affected the title race, in which he trails Max Verstappen by 52 points.
Red Bull revealed on Thursday that they had reached an agreement with the FIA to make adjustments to their RB20 in response to other teams’ concerns. The gadget, positioned near the front of the car’s floor, was suspected of potentially allowing Red Bull to change the vehicle’s ride height. which would violate regulations under restricted ‘parc ferme’ conditions. While Red Bull admitted the presence of the item, they argued that it was not accessible after the car was fully completed.
Speaking before the Austin race, Norris agreed that the incident could tip the balance in their title campaign, but downplayed its overall significance. “But they wouldn’t have gotten several pole positions or wins just because of that device.” Norris hailed the FIA’s inquiry, stating, “It’s great that the FIA is stepping in. There is a difference between pushing the boundaries and breaking the regulations, and McLaren has made certain to innovate within the space available.”
“I don’t believe it will affect anything in the grand picture of things. Perhaps at certain qualifying sessions, when it has been divided by hundredths or thousandths, you might conclude, ‘OK, maybe this has helped in this or that direction.'”
Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez agreed with Red Bull’s claim that the gadget was not used to gain a performance advantage. Verstappen claimed that, while the tool was available, it was unreachable until the car was fully constructed and hence had no impact on race performance. “For us, it was just an easier tool to adjust things when the parts were off the car,” Verstappen explained in an interview.
Despite the dispute, Norris remained optimistic about McLaren’s chances in Austin, particularly following his overwhelming victory in Singapore by more than 20 seconds. “Probably more (confident),” the Brit replied. “If you compare where we were last year here with the car we had compared to Singapore, I believe this was a better weekend for us.” We lead the opening half of the race. It was a good weekend. Some things have changed on this track, including new surfaces, so there are always questions to be answered.
“With how we performed last year in the last three, four, five races, we are confident we can be towards the top.”Verstappen, on the other hand, has downplayed expectations for Red Bull’s potential enhancements heading into the race. Reflecting on the performance disparity in Singapore, he stated, “I don’t expect the enhancements to entirely change the pecking order. We’ve had constraints with the car this year, and while we work on it, we won’t suddenly become the dominant team.”