Red Bull takes on Mercedes
After the hearing before the FIA Court of Appeal, the Red Bull-Mercedes skirmish has intensified. This time, it was through its official website, but anonymously, that the Austrian team attacked the Stuttgart team.
Even though the matter of the flow meters has ended, at least for a time, with the verdict rendered by the FIA International Court of Appeal, Mercedes’ intervention during the hearing did not go unnoticed, as the German team requested, against Red Bull, a three-race ban and a six-month suspended suspension, arguing that the Austrian team had deliberately violated the regulations.
An indictment that Red Bull has not forgotten and about which the famous “Red Bull Spy,” the supposedly anonymous author who writes for the team’s official site, akin to Ferrari’s “Horse Whisperer,” made the subject of his latest post: « The big news […] is that those mischievous rogues at Merco have decided to play the inquisitors during our appeal and demanded a three-race ban. »
The words are not kind towards the star team for whom Spy’s projects seem somewhat hostile: « There are some pursed lips among our management on this subject, but they have decided to overlook it and not comment, but down here on the front line, you can be sure we are telling our friends at the neighboring garage where they can shove the three-pointed star. »
For Red Bull, Mercedes’ requests indicate concern: « In fact, it’s quite reassuring: it means we’re getting close enough to unsettle them and make them sweat a little. In February, it seemed quite unlikely. In the end, here’s what the Spy thinks: it seems we’ve undergone a change in the last two weeks. »
It will take a long time before we fully understand this car, but we have moved past the stage where we are just trying to make it work and we are now at the stage of making it as fast as possible, concludes the Red Bull Spy.
This new episode in the media war between Red Bull and Mercedes follows the one that took place in China. Niki Lauda, non-executive director of Mercedes, offered Helmut Marko, head of the Red Bull driver development program, a chocolate cake – a Sachertorte, a Viennese specialty – to bury the hatchet. But the member of the Red Bull team did not partake in this offering.
« He thinks everything is settled with a cake, » said Marko to Bild, before warning: « I think the next time he wants to eat with us, he should wear a bulletproof vest. »
