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Red Bull has not taken kindly to Aston Martin turning up to the Spanish GP with a car that looks very similar to the RB18. Speaking to Sky Sport Germany, Helmut Marko said that the movement of people from the Austrian team to the Silverstone-based team, including their former chief aerodynamicist, Dan Fallows, could not be ignored. He said:
“It must now be clarified how this unbelievable copy came about. Copying is not forbidden. But you also have to take into account that seven people were poached from us and that our chief aerodynamicist [Dan Fallows] was drawn to Aston Martin with a disproportionately high fee.”
The Red Bull advisor also spoke about some evidence that is being investigated by the team:
“There are still some facts that we are looking into. We will look into it in detail. It’s not just Dan Fallows. There is evidence that data was downloaded. Is it possible to copy without documentation and then manage such a detailed copy of our car?”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was more concerned about some of the team's IP finding its way onto the other car. Speaking on BBC 5 Live Sport's Spanish Grand Prix preview podcast, the Briton said:
“A few people have moved over the winter period, and what you can’t control is what they take in their heads. But what would be of grave concern to us would be if any IP had in any way changed hands. That is where we rely on the FIA to do their job. They have all the access and we will be relying on them heavily to ensure that no Red Bull IP has found its way into that car.”
This saga is far from over. Let's wait to see what Red Bull's investigation unearths.
Aston Martin retaliates against Red Bull's claims
Aston Martin retaliated against Red Bull's statements by saying that the FIA had done its due diligence and cleared the team of any wrongdoing.
It stated:
“We have shared details of our update with the FIA technical people. Having analysed the data and processes used, the FIA has confirmed in writing that our update was generated as a result of legitimate independent work in accordance with technical regulations.”
This is certainly not the last time we'll be hearing of this story. Stay tuned to see how things unfold in the coming weeks.
