Red Bull is probing a possible “criminal” IP data leak after Aston Martin turned up to Barcelona with a near-copy of their RB18.
While the front of the AMR22 is still distinctly Aston, a major upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix has seen the Silverstone-based outfit copy key features of Red Bull’s car, including the mirrors, sidepods, cooling louvres and floor.
The similarities between the two cars led the FIA to visit Aston Martin’s factory this week to investigate any potential breach of the regulations.
However, they were satisfied after the team produced wind tunnel data suggesting the Barcelona design was in development as early as last November.
“Imitation is the biggest form of flattery, at the end of the day,” team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports on the ‘Green Red Bull’.
Horner and the team drinking green Red Bulls after Aston Martin’s new car looked suspiciously familiar.
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“It’s no coincidence we’ve had a few individuals that have transferred from Red Bull to Aston Martin over the winter in the early part of this season.
“It was brought to our attention actually by the FIA earlier in the week when they said ‘we’ve got a car that looks remarkably like yours, can we have a list of your leavers to see where they went?’
“So of course, that immediately raises alarm bells. What is permissible is – we see it up and down the paddock – individuals move from team to team after a garden leave period. What they take in their head, that’s fair game. That’s their knowledge.
“What isn’t fair, and what is totally unacceptable and which we wouldn’t accept, if there has been any transfer of IP at all.”
Indeed, Horner revealed Red Bull is now reviewing the actions of those who have made the switch to Aston Martin and warned of the potential consequences.
“I’m not going to disclose exactly where we are with certain individuals but it would be an offence, a criminal offence, because IP is a team’s lifeblood, it’s what we invest millions and millions of pounds into. You wouldn’t want to see that just turning up in a rival organisation,” he said.
“Otherwise, we may as well be able to sell aerodynamics.
“We already have an internal investigation. We’ve got our own software protections, we know exactly what software is locked out, where that software is controlled,” he confirmed.
“But I think this is the job of the regulator, the FIA, because they have the access and we rely very much on them to ensure there is no transfer of IP, that there has been no abuse of that, and so it’s very much their job to go and police that.
“In reality, it’s the precedent that’s set. It’s not the biggest of issues for us unless Aston Martin starts beating us, but for the teams that are in that midfield, it could have a material effect on them.
“And I think the biggest thing for us, that we will ensure, is that our IP is protected and it hasn’t been abused.”
Later on Friday, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko went one step further, claiming there had been a possible breach.
“Now you have to clarify how this incredible copy came about,” he told Sky Deutschland. “As things stand, it’s okay. Copying isn’t forbidden, but there is evidence that data has been downloaded.
“It’s just the question: copying is probably not prohibited to begin with, but can you copy without documents in such a way that you can get such a detailed copy of our car?”