Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the push to gain “clarity” on Formula 1’s engine rules was “important” for the 2020 season.
Last year saw Ferrari hold a considerable power advantage over Mercedes and Honda during the year and after the Scuderia began winning races and claiming poles post-summer break, scrutiny only grew.
That led to requests for clarification from the FIA on certain ‘tricks’ it was believed Ferrari were using and ahead of the United States and Brazilian races, the governing body issued technical directives on those matters.
In Austin, there was a notable drop in the Scuderia’s performance after a clampdown on fuel flow sensors was introduced and looking ahead to this year, the Red Bull boss says the push was beneficial for his team.
“The power unit aspect of the car is an incredibly complex piece of kit and I think that the FIA don’t have the expertise that the teams have developed,” Horner suggested via Motorsport.
“I think what has been clarified is a lockdown in various areas, which is focused on what’s happening going forward rather than looking behind us.
“And for us, what was enormously important was to have absolute clarity going into the 2020 season.”
Also Read:
- Mercedes: Ferrari engine superior but Honda developing faster!
- Ferrari rivals don’t have doubts about engine legality, Binotto claims
- Red Bull threaten Ferrari with protests in 2020 after Abu Dhabi ‘joke’
Ferrari tried to brush off the apparent impact of the technical directives, arguing the loss of top speed was down to running more downforce and also pointed to the scrutiny the FIA placed them under.
“If I look at the whole season, we have been one of the most checked teams, that was before or after the technical directives,” said team boss Mattia Binotto.
“And when you got a performance advantage, and certainly we got it during the whole season, we have been the most checked.
“Being checked I think it’s normal, it is somehow good because through the checks you are proving your legality,” he noted.