McLaren chief Zak Brown urging Red Bull to come back clear

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has called on Christian Horner and key members of his Red Bull team to sign affidavits to clear up the accusations of cheating at the centre of a bitter world championship fight.

Speaking before Lando Norris locked up on the final lap of the sprint race here to finish third and fall 54 points behind winner Max Verstappen, Brown addressed accusations that his rivals have been changing their ride height between qualifying and the race, which is not allowed under secure, ‘parc ferme’ conditions.

Red Bull admit their cars are fitted with a device that allows them to make the modification, but they insist ‘it is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled’.

World governing body the FIA have ordered that the part be sealed from this weekend onwards, but acknowledge they have no means of checking if Red Bull have changed their car in past races, possibly breaking their rules.

Nikolas Tombazis, FIA head of single-seaters, has said the matter is closed as there is no evidence of cheating. Horner claimed the accusations are fuelled by ‘paranoia’.

Brown, however, was due to meet FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to discuss the issue and call for legally binding statements from Red Bull.

With McLaren holding a 39-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors’ standings with six rounds remaining, the topic is critical to the destiny of both titles.

Brown told Mail Sport: ‘I’d like to see the senior leadership, the former chief mechanics and the current mechanics sign an affidavit stating that they have never used or have no knowledge of it being used.

‘The suggestion in the pit lane from a handful of people is that it has been used in that manner, so the only way to bottom it out is the old-fashioned “sign here”, stating what has gone on.

‘I know if I was presented with an affidavit and the consequences of not telling the truth were severe, I’d tell the truth.

‘I am confident the matter is dealt with going forward. But if they have done it in the past, there is no grey area about it. Modifying your car in parc ferme is as clear a breach of the regulations as possible.

‘And look at the wording of their denial about the device being inaccessible when the car is prepared to go racing. Well, the car isn’t fully prepared to go racing in parc ferme. Many things can be changed. You can pull the seat out, you can adjust the pedals.’

As for a potential punishment if Red Bull were found to have erred, Brown said: ‘It needs to be a deterrent.

‘We have seen drivers excluded from races and championships. And I am not saying Max should be excluded, by the way. We have seen teams excluded from races and championships. If, and I say “if”, parc ferme rules have been broken, the penalty needs to be of that magnitude, depending on whether they did it once or have been doing it regularly for three years. There must be consequences.’

Just as pressing is that McLaren’s recent pace advantage dissipated in the sprint. Verstappen won by 3.8sec. Norris, who made a brisk start to go straight up from fourth to second, never threatened the world champion across the 19 laps.

And then a minor disaster, as Norris carried too much speed into the opening corner of the final lap. Carlos Sainz seized the opportunity.

‘Ferrari were on another level,’ said Norris, who blamed worn tyres. ‘There was no way I could have held on to second place.’

These were ominous comments with regards to his championship hopes. There are 172 points to be fought over, and Norris needs most of them.