Red Bull accuse McLaren of tyre cooling trick as F1 feud continues at Brazilian GP

McLaren have been accused of breaking rules with a tyre-cooling trick, with the forced to intervene.

The British side have enjoyed a stunning season in 2024. They sit top of the Constructors’ Standings ahead of , while is a bonafide challenger for the Drivers’ Championship.

He sits just 44 points behind current champion ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian GP. But there is some controversy before this week’s race.

It has been suggested that and a number of their F1 rivals have been investigated for potentially cooling their tyres with water. F1 technical regulations state that teams are not allowed to remove moisture from inside the tyres during races.

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Article 10.8.4 reads: “Tyres may only be inflated with air or nitrogen” and “any process the intent of which is to reduce the amount of moisture in the tyre and/or in its inflation gas is forbidden.”

But according to , there is a theory that some teams - including McLaren - have found a way to inject water or other liquid into their tyres before they’re fitted to the cars. It is suggested that any coolant could help keep the majority of the tyre cool, limiting thermal degradation.

It is further revealed that concerns about the activity developed during the Singapore GP when some rims were spotted with liquid inside of them. The FIA were reportedly alerted about those worries, with head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis in talks with tyre manufacturer Pirelli and teams ahead of the Brazilian GP.

Tombazis kept a close eye on teams during this weekend’s sprint race. The FIA have yet to comment but their scrutineering report confirmed that tyres were inspected. It read: "The tyres used by all drivers during the Sprint today have been checked."

Who will win the Brazil GP?

Red Bull have been looking for answers as to why they have lost their previous race pace advantage. Speaking ahead of the Brazil GP, Verstappen said: “Some teams made huge steps on race pace, which is quite odd.

“Because if you look at our car compared to last year, we made steps in qualifying and in the race. The others also make a decent step in qualifying pace, but then they make a much, much bigger step in race pace. And that's something that's hard for us to understand.”

Meanwhile, team principal said earlier this season: “If one was a sceptic and somewhat paranoid, you say something's changed. Because even when we've gone back to the configuration of the car that, for example, we had in China, we still have some of the same issues that we have experienced.

“But, in saying that, it changed for everybody, potentially. But I've never in a season seen a swing so exaggerated. Obviously we have to get on top of that. We have to understand it.”

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