“Bendy wing at the rear of their car”: Did Mercedes set Hamilton up to accuse Red Bull of cheating?

Red Bull has been known to use aerodynamic parts that change shape depending on the speed of the car. They have often been accused of ‘bending’ the rules of Formula 1 using these parts.

Over the decades, their designer Adrian Newey was the one who had pushed these parts in the design of the car.

According to Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen’s car seemed to contain a part that was performing the same old trick – this time the part being the car’s rear wing.

On Friday, Red Bull had tried out a rear wing with a high downforce. Then on Saturday, they switched it for one with less drag.

The question arises – did their wing over-flex in the airstream and thereby give them more top speed on the straights?

“The Red Bulls are pretty quick on the straights,” confirmed Hamilton.

“They have this bendy wing at the rear of their car that they put on today and they gained at least three tenths of a second with it.”

Horner bites back at accusation

When it comes to parts bending during the race, the FIA has strict guidelines. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner rubbished the claims of the Mercedes driver who was indirectly accusing them of cheating.

“The cars are tested intensively. There are pull-back tests and also various other tests that they have to pass,” said Horner.

“The FIA is absolutely satisfied with the car. It has passed all the tests, which are quite strict, by the way.

“It’s something Toto [Wolff] mentioned to me once,” mentioned the Red Bull boss.

When Toto Wolff was asked about Horner’s opinion and if Hamilton was coached to say what he said, the Mercedes team boss ended the line of questioning on the spot.

“Yes, we discussed that, but I don’t want to comment further. Sorry,” he concluded.

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