Rumors, allegations, and controversies have never been too far away from Red Bull. Since their 2005 debut, the Austrian team has frequently been at the center of F1 drama. From internal rifts to ‘controversial’ wins, the team has seen it all. Just when the 2024 season seemed smooth for Christian Horner’s team, new rumors emerged in the F1 community.

Recently, ex-Ferrari boss Peter Windsor claimed to have understood the reason behind Red Bull’s performance drop. He believed the FIA asked RB to remove an ‘illegal’ cross-brake inertia valve before the Miami GP. Windsor also claimed that since then, the team has faced several issues leading to their downfall. Following this revelation, Craig Scarborough of ScarsTech took to social media to point out the FIA brake system regulations. The rule prohibits equipment that systematically or intentionally produces symmetric braking torque for a given axle.

This has divided the fans and experts from the F1 community. Recalling past instances, F1 pundits are trying to understand the parameters of cheating and honesty in the world of motorsport.

‘cheating’ allegations on Red Bull get a new point of view from the experts of F1

Does Red Bull truly have a double probation as Craig Scarborough claimed? A lot of questionable turns of events have led to the allegations. Max Verstappen’s performance dip has prompted Christian Horner and the team to implement specific changes. So, if we were to believe in Scarborough’s thorough report, “a sensitive valve” would be a good premise to start with. If the claims are true, it would be considered cheating, right?

F1 Pundit Peter Wright shared his thoughts on the Missed Apex podcast on Spotify. He said: “McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, I think if any team has what Scarborough has posted it’s an out-and-out cheat.” But why did this take so long to get to this point? Even Ferrari was penalized for similar allegations in the past. “They got away with that fuel flow for ages. It’s not clear,” shared Wright. Taking a page from the past, the F1 pundit reminded the host that Toto Wolff‘s Mercedes got away with a genius loophole. The FIA banned their infamous DAS system of 2020 because it gave the team an added edge over the others. Lewis Hamilton won his last championship in the W11, which had the DAS system.

Peter Wright believes that teams who know their way around wording can bypass the so-called cheating allegations. “I think anything that can exploit the wording of the regulations which is what the end job of every single F1 car designer to do, then you don’t call it cheating. To me, we have to be careful with the word ‘cheating’.” This reminds us of Adrian Newey’s creation – the fiddle brakes that McLaren used in 1997 but were banned the following season. Similarly, Mercedes’ DAS system led the team to their championship title. Let’s find out more.

Toto Wolff and his team created a genius design that the FIA banned a year after it won the title

“As obvious as the DAS system where it was the first day of testing, everyone went, ‘What the heck is that?’ And the thing about the DAS, it all came down to the wording thing, like, is it part of the steering system? I don’t understand how can you come to that conclusion. But they let it drag out for the year and then banned it the following season,” recalled Peter Wright.

During the first day of testing in Barcelona for the 2020 season, everyone noticed something extraordinary in Mercedes‘ W11 steering. The rules suggest that the steering controls the front tire’s positions, however, Wolff’s team found a masterful loophole. This allowed them to implement the DAS system. The Dual Axis Steering enabled the driver to move the steering wheel closer to or farther from themselves. This way, they could adjust the toe angle whenever they wanted—opening up a whole new dimension. This was pure craftsmanship and sly genius that led to the successful implementation and usage of the DAS system for the 2020 season. The team won its last title with Lewis Hamilton under the secretly prohibited system.

As we can see, a new perspective has opened before us. On one hand, there is an alleged cheating being reported against Red Bull. On the other hand, past instances show that such things have taken place in the past and teams have bypassed penalization. Experts say that not everything can be classified as ‘cheating.’ What do you think?