Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green has dismissed any implication that his team copied the Red Bull RB18 design after Christian Horner said his team would carry out an “internal investigation” into the matter.
Ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, where numerous teams including Mercedes and Ferrari implemented major upgrades, Aston Martin also updated its car, prompting Horner to say “imitation is the greatest form of flattery” given the perceived resemblance between the AMR22 and RB18, the FIA having carried out an investigation into the matter before declaring the Aston Martin compliant.
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Horner added that Red Bull would ensure there had been no illegal transfer of intellectual property, or ‘IP’, to Aston Martin, who hired former Red Bull aero chief Dan Fallows earlier this year.
“We will have an internal investigation,” the Red Bull team principal told Sky Sports F1. “We have our own software protections, we know exactly what software is examined, where that software is controlled. But I think it is the job of the regulator, the FIA, because they have that access and we trust them a lot to make sure that there is no transfer of IP, that there has been no abuse of that. So it’s very much their job to go and police that.”
Green, Aston Martin’s technical chief, said on Saturday when asked how big a contribution former Red Bull team members like Fallows had to the car: “All I can say is that at no time did we receive data from any team, of anyone
“The FIA came in and did a thorough investigation. [They] they examined all the previous data and the history of this car, interviewed all the people involved and concluded that it was a completely independent development. And to that point where you’re talking about potential hires: This car was conceived in the middle of last year as a dual route with the launch car and most of the launches were done before anyone from Red Bull came along.
“So, I think the accusations are very off the mark.”
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Asked if he was surprised or disappointed by any allegations of wrongdoing, he added: “Yes, disappointed. Especially with the fact that the FIA has made a statement regarding the car and, as I said before, they have come and looked and declared that it is an independent work.
“They are the ones who see all the data… not only from us but from all the teams, so they are really the only ones who can make a judgment and by regulation they are obliged to make a judgment on this, and they have . And I think for me, that’s the end of it.
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“If you look at the development of the car that is out there right now, you see this all happened at the end of last year, before we had seen anyone. We were on a dual path, so it was a shock but also a surprise that Red Bull also came up with a similar concept.
“But I think that reinforced our feeling at the time that, of the two paths that were open to us, we had gone the wrong way. And I think that was confirmation of that.”
Reference-www.formula1.com