McLaren and Mercedes join hands in 'tire water drama' against Red Bull

McLaren and Mercedes have seemingly joined hands the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, rebuked any suggestion from Red Bull about the Woking-based team doing something illegal with the car. The questions around the reigning champion filling water in its tires to keep them cool were first raised last season.

After the FIA investigation, it was found that McLaren was not doing anything wrong. This season, however, the team's tire management appears to have been even more pronounced. This was in evidence in the F1 Miami GP, where Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were more than half a minute clear of the chasing pack.

Before the race on Sunday, reports emerged of Red Bull incessantly asking questions to the FIA, about McLaren's rear braking solution. The Milton Keynes-based squad had used thermal imaging to keep track of the brake temperatures of the car, and contrary to every other team on the grid, the reigning champions' brakes never rose beyond a particular point.

Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, was questioned about this as well, to which the Austrian said that the integrity of a group comprising Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, and Rob Marshall should not be questioned. He told media, including RacingNews365.

"I think that the team around Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella], Rob Marshall... these are good people with integrity. If in the past, [we] often say: 'Well, let's look at whether there's something borderline', but I have no doubt that these guys [McLaren] stay within the rules. It's just really good development [with] that car. They've understood how to manage the tyre much better than everybody else and, in my opinion, it's totally legit."

Red Bull doubles down on questioning McLaren

Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, however, was not stepping back as he continued to question the solutions that McLaren had applied to the car. Talking about how this is just a part of F1 where the frontrunning teams get the most scrutiny, Horner revealed that most of the time teams tend to be the helping hand for the FIA when it comes to questioning the legality because of the disparity of resources. He said,

"Look, I mean in Formula 1, there are always going to be questions that are raised. [McLaren] did exactly the same about the front suspension on our car last year, so it is inevitable when you're running at the front, as we have for quite a few years, you will come under more scrutiny."

He added,

"That is the part and parcel of Formula 1, and in many respects for the FIA, all of the teams do the vast majority of the work because their resource is far greater and there is always competitor analysis going on across all of the teams. That is just part and parcel of Formula 1, but it is important to understand McLaren is the standout car and they have the kind of advantage we had a couple of years ago."

Whether there is something that the reigning champions are doing on their car or not is a question nobody has an answer to. With that being said, the entire grid would be worried with the kind of advantage that the team had in Miami.