Red Bull rule out Mercedes suspension protest

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has ruled out lodging a protest with the FIA over Mercedes trick suspension.

At recent grands prix in Turkey and the United States, Mercedes rear suspension received a significant amount of attention with the system hunkering the diffuser into the track surface at high speed.

The system was seen at its extreme in Istanbul but despite being on the receiving end of a protest from Mercedes earlier this year, the controversy focused around a flexible rear wing, Red Bull will not take action against its title rival.

"I don’t feel it is illegal no [we won't protest]," said Horner.

"It’s something that has been used historically and we have seen it with them in the past but obviously, what we have seen in Turkey was quite an extreme version of it which that circuit seemed to allow.”

With Max Verstappen 12 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings but Red Bull trailing Mercedes by 23 in the constructors', Horner was pressed on whether the system could be a factor in the championship race.

“We’ve never said we don’t think it’s legal so therefore there would be absolutely no reason to protest but it will have a greater influence at some tracks than at others," explained Horner.

“It was a reduced effect in the US. Somewhere like Jeddah, it could be quite powerful.”

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