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Former F1 world champion Damon Hill gave a concise reaction to McLaren being cleared by the FIA in the wake of controversies regarding their rear tire wear. The Woking-based outfit has been the class of the field in the first six races of the 2025 season, winning five of them.
The reigning world champion has established a sizeable gap with their rivals due to their superior race pace and tire wear. In the off-season, the iconic British team developed a complex rear brake system that helps them keep their tires cool in the hot conditions and reduces tire degradation.
Many teams on the grid had contested the brake system, while some claimed that McLaren was using some liquid in their rear tires to aid wear over a race distance. However, FIA cleared them of any wrongdoing and said in their statement (via Sky Sports):
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"After the race in Miami, car number 81 was randomly chosen among the top ten cars for more extensive physical inspections. Subject to these physical inspections were the wheel bodywork assemblies. The following checks were carried out on all corners: The compliance of all components with TR Article 3.13."
"Physical checks for compliance with TR Article 11.5 on all four corners. All inspected components were found to be in conformance with the 2025 Formula One Technical Regulations," the statement further read.
On his Instagram story, Damon Hill gave a three-word reaction to McLaren getting the go-ahead from the governing body regarding any tire tricks and agreed with the decision, saying:
"Like they would".
McLaren CEO Zak Brown even took a cheeky jibe at rivals regarding the alleged water tricks by writing 'tire water' on the bottle at the pit wall in Miami.
McLaren driver reacts to FIA's ruling regarding their 'water tricks'
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri stated that he was not 'concerned' about the issue while accepting that the FIA was investigating the matter post the Miami Grand Prix.
In his pre-race press conference in Imola, the Aussie driver reflected:
"I honestly haven’t read anything because I’ve not been concerned. Maybe next time we’ll put some little figurines in a water slide as well —I don’t know—we’ll come up with something. But clearly it’s all been passed. I had no concerns. Play on."
Looking forward to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend, the five-time F1 race winner added:
"Yeah, I mean it’s a great circuit. I’ve only raced here once, but it’s definitely towards the top end of my favourites."
The 23-year-old had outqualified his teammate Lando Norris in the previous edition of the race in Imola last year, but finished behind him after failing to extract the maximum out of the car in 2024.
