'Green Red Bull?' - FIA clears Aston Martin after copy claim rocks F1 paddock

Aston Martin revealed a heavy revised car at Barcelona featuring aerodynamic elements that bear an extremely close resemblance to the design of this year’s Red Bull. 

The Silverstone-based outfit appears to have drawn inspiration from Red Bull’s solution to the sidepod concept on their 2022 car, which features an aggressive undercut. 

Red Bull's Christian Horner was spotted with a green can of his team's energy drink, while Helmut Marko questioned if ex-colleagues who joined Aston Martin had taken ideas with them.

But on Friday, the FIA revealed it had undertaken a “routine pre-event legality check” of the planned upgrades, but found no wrongdoing. 

• ‘Passions are high’ but Lewis Hamilton has no problem with Mercedes strategy
• F1 Spanish Grand Prix free practice 1 results
• Charles Leclerc edges Max Verstappen in practice

“Both teams collaborated fully with the FIA in this investigation and provided all the relevant information,” an FIA statement read. 

“The investigation, which involved CAD checks and a detailed analysis of the development process adopted by Aston Martin, confirmed that no wrongdoing had been committed, and therefore the FIA considers that the Aston Martin aerodynamic upgrades are compliant.

“Article 17.3 specifically defines and prohibits “Reverse Engineering”, i.e. the digital process of converting photographs (or other data) to CAD models, and prohibits IP transfer between teams, but equally, this Article permits car designs getting influenced by those of competitors, as has always been the case in Formula 1. 

“In the analysis we carried out we confirmed that the processes followed by Aston Martin were consistent with this Article’s requirements.” 

Aston Martin have recruited several personnel from Red Bull, including their former head of aerodynamics, Dan Fallows. Fallows was signed last year but could only begin his new role with Aston Martin in April after a settlement was reached between the two teams. 

Red Bull's copying concerns over F1 rivals

Red Bull said they had “noted the FIA’s statement with interest.” 

“While imitation is the greatest form of flattery, any replication of design would obviously need to comply with the FIA’s rules around ‘Reverse Engineering’,” a team statement added.

Inbetween session refreshment, anyone? pic.twitter.com/6WMAlmcwZJ

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 20, 2022

“However, should any transfer of IP have taken place that would clearly be a breach of regulations and would be a serious concern.” 

Marko, a Red Bull consultant, claimed to Sky Germany that “there is evidence that data was downloaded”.

It is not the first time that Aston Martin have been suspected of copying a rival’s car design, with the then Racing Point squad’s 2020 car dubbed the ‘pink Mercedes’ due to its striking resemblance with the Mercedes W10. 

Aston Martin: We have been transparent

Aston Martin's team principal Mike Krack denied claims they had copied Red Bull when speaking to Sky Sports: “We have been clear, transparent, open. We have been given the green light.

“It is a normal development process. We had porpoising difficulties. We said: ‘We need to change’.

“We bring upgrades all the time. Sometimes they are visible, sometimes not.”