Red Bull F1 has stated that it will not be escalating accusations of copying against Aston Martin F1

Red Bull Racing has stated that it will not be escalating accusations of copying against Aston Martin’s AMR22 Formula 1 car, after the latter team unveiled a B-spec version which bore striking similarity to the Red Bull RB18. Aston Martin had started the season with a unique design, but appeared at the Spanish Grand Prix with a car which appeared to show significant similarities with the Red Bull car. Given that Aston Martin has recently signed several former Red Bull personnel, speculation rose that intellectual property may have been shared.

INVESTIGATION DROPPED

Former Red Bull Head of Aerodynamics Dan Fellows was recruited as Aston Martin’s new Technical Director, leading to court action by Red Bull. Both parties would subsequently agree to a deal that saw Fellowes employed by April.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 that “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery at the end of the day. What is permissible is – we see it up and down the paddock – individuals move from team to team after a garden leave period. What they take in their head, that’s fair game. That’s their knowledge. What isn’t fair, and what is totally unacceptable, which we wouldn’t accept, if there has been any transfer of IP at all.”

While the FIA was able to clear Aston Martin of any copying courtesy of paperwork showing proof of their concept predating the employment of any Red Bull staff , Red Bull confirmed that it would carry out internal investigations to confirm no data had left its facilities. Those investigations appear to have been completed, with nothing proved. “The current state of affairs is that we can’t prove anything specifically,” said Helmut Marko, advisor to Red Bull. “We’re not pursuing it because we don’t see Aston Martin as a direct competitor for us. If you can’t prove it in black and white, you shouldn’t.” Aston Martin’s Chief Technical Officer Andrew Green denied that any data had been sourced from outside the company.

“All I can say is that at no stage did we ever receive any data from any team, from anyone. The FIA came in and did a thorough investigation, examined all the data leading up, in the history of this car, they interviewed all the people involved, and concluded that it was completely independent development. This car was conceived in the middle of last year, as a dual-route with the launch car, and the majority of the releases were made before anybody from Red Bull even turned up.”