Red Bull has been forced to alter its front wing after being politely informed by the FIA that it posed a puncture risk to other cars.
The FIA asked Red Bull and Mercedes to change their front wing end plates ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, to prevent causing punctures with other cars.
“Our front wing didn’t cause any punctures” Team Principal Christian Horner told us.
“Apart from the Sainz one in Bahrain” he conceded.
Designer Adrian Newey was visibly frustrated with the decision, and at one point he and a senior FIA official engaged in a sword fight with the sharp front wing end plates, before being broken up by the stewards.
Once calmed down, Newey spent all week at the drawing board, with the team ordering in emergency parts to make the change.
“Adrian ran out of pencils” Horner revealed, “so we had to ship some in”
“But we had to use blunt ones, because the sharpened ones posed a puncture risk to other drawing boards” Horner confirmed.
Haas also faced a similar issue, however they reportedly found a quick fix.
“The wing fell off anyway of its own accord, so we didnt have to do anything” The Gunt confirmed.
“It only poses a puncture risk to our tyres!”
It’s believed Williams also faced a similar issue, however FIA officials used their discresion.
“The Williams aren’t near any other cars to puncture, so we let ‘em go” a spokesperson told us.
“They have enough problems as it is”
The new front wings will appear on the cars this weekend. Newey can accept a 10 second time penalty for brandishing a dangerous endplate.
