Red Bull reveal bizarre issue with spec part as Supercars launch investigation

Supercars

Red Bull reveal bizarre issue with spec part as Supercars launch investigation

An absolutely baffling situation all round

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Wednesday 12 August 2026 22:30

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Australian racing series Supercars has said that it is launching an investigation into claims from a Red Bull team that they were provided with an undersized engine airflow restrictor which has been impacting their performance.

2024 champion Will Brown has been struggling for pace all year, currently sitting seventh in the championship after 25 races, and the team released a statement from team principal Jamie Whincup this week claiming that the team have discovered the 'significant issue', which appears to have been costing Brown time.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing and Triple Eight team explained that the engine airflow restrictor, a spec part which is given to teams at the start of the season by Supercars to ensure uniformity, was found to be undersized – effectively reducing the amount of horsepower that the No. 888 car could produce.

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The team's other car, the No. 88 driven by Broc Feeney, appears to be unaffected. Feeney currently sits second in the championship with five wins.

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Red Bull team statement on bizarre Supercars issue

Whincup's statement read: "After Perth we promised Will, his crew and all stakeholders associated with Car #888, which includes our beloved fans, that we would leave no stone unturned and find reasons why Car #888 has not been fighting for race wins recently.

"At 7pm last night we found a significant issue on Car #888.

"Since the start of this season, Car #888 has been running with an undersized engine airflow restrictor. This part manages the airflow into the engine and has a significant negative impact on engine performance, and therefore lap time.

"This is not a part we, Triple Eight or Red Bull Ampol Racing, manufacture. This is a supplied part from Supercars expected to be the same for all 11 Ford Mustangs, distributed at the start of the season and expected to be run for the whole season.

"We as a team are taking responsibility and want to deeply apologise to everyone involved for allowing this to happen.

"While this error has cost our team a considerable amount of resource, sport is an emotional game and these types of things have knock-on effects bigger than the average 1.5 tenths a lap.

"We will be taking up with Supercars why they have supplied us with what is a controlled component out of specification, which has negatively impacted the performance of Car #888 this season to date.

"We will continue to roll out our new chassis for Car #888 at Queensland Raceway and look forward to measuring our capability now we are competing with the same horsepower as the rest of the field."

Supercars statement on restrictor issue

"Supercars acknowledges the finding that Car 888 has competed during the 2026 Supercars season with an air restrictor that is one millimetre smaller in size than is prescribed for the Ford Mustang.

"The component was loaned by Supercars to Triple Eight Race Engineering (T8RE) for demonstration purposes only at the team's launch in February.

"The air restrictor subsequently remained fitted to Car 888 through the Perth Super 440. Neither party identified the discrepancy until it was discovered by T8RE during preparations for next weekend's event in Ipswich.

"Throughout the Supercars season, routine scrutineering and compliance checks are carried out at random by Supercars’ Technical department, covering a vast range of components and systems. As of the Perth event, the air restrictor fitted to Car 888 had not been selected for inspection during those checks.

"Supercars is reviewing the circumstances surrounding this matter and will evaluate opportunities to strengthen its technical and operational procedures moving forward.

"Supercars acknowledges and appreciates T8RE’s identifying and prompt reporting of the matter to Supercars."

Red Bull