'Red Bull possibly played with tyre pressure, FIA never checks during races'

Saturday there were rumours that Red Bull Racing were to blame for the crash of Max Verstappen at the Baku City Circuit. The Austrian team would have played with the tyre pressures and that would have cost the Dutchman his head. The Italian branch of Motorsport.com confirms the rumours that tyre pressure can be manipulated.

Since the British Grand Prix in 2013, Pirelli has added a rule to the regulations that requires F1 teams to observe a minimum tire pressure at the start of the race. The level of tyre pressure is determined by Pirelli, depending on the circuit.

Before the start of the race on Sunday, the FIA will randomly check if the teams meet this requirement. The officials of the international motorsport federation are also allowed to visit the garages of the teams during the Grands Prix to check if the tyre pressures of the other available sets of tyres comply with the regulations.

Red Bull themselves at fault?

However, according to the aforementioned medium, the problem is that this check is currently carried out very rarely, so little in fact that there are those in the paddock who claim they have never experienced it. It could be a signal that teams are going below the minimum tire pressure in order to get more grip. It is possible that Red Bull Racing (with Verstappen) and Aston Martin (with Lance Stroll) have been fiddling with this and are to blame for the crashes.

Max Verstappen was very clear on Ziggo Sport after his DNF in Azerbaijan. He didn't have much faith in an investigation of Pirelli: "I already know the outcome. That's hard to accept. But it will have to do with 'debris' again." Pirelli and the FIA are expected to release the final investigation report within 48 hours.