Aston Martin ‘s updated AMR22 unveiled in Barcelona features a number of new parts that bear significant similarities to Red Bull’s RB18 model, earning it the nickname “Green Red Bull”.
The FIA confirmed that it had investigated Aston Martin’s design methods, but found that its processes were in compliance with regulations. Red Bull responded by saying it received the international federation’s response “with interest” but that a transfer of intellectual property between teams would be of “serious concern”.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said it was “not a coincidence” that Aston Martin has ended up with such a similar design, given that several of the Austrian team’s employees have moved to the team in recent months.
The Milton Keynes outfit’s technical director, Pierre Wache , admitted he was “surprised” to see such similarities in the Aston Martin, but said that, after the FIA’s checks, the aim now was to ensure there had been no such similarities. Red Bull intellectual property leak.
“For us, the main aspect was to be sure that it had been done according to the regulations,” he said. “The FIA has checked it and it seems that yes [they have complied with the rules]. For our part, now we must check that we do not have any leakage of intellectual property. That is the main asset of the team. We want to make sure of it, that is what We are investigating right now.”
“As a personal aspect of engineering, it’s been satisfying to have a team copy us. It means our concept isn’t too bad,” Wache explained.
Aston Martin technical boss Andrew Green was “disappointed” by Red Bull’s accusations, calling them “exaggerated”, but Wache does not think his team was overly vocal or gave a “huge voice” to the regard.
“We just want to make sure that we protect ourselves, and with the cost cap, the main aspect of the budget is intellectual property, we want to make sure that the way we spend our money is safe and our assets are safe,” he explained. .
Wache added that the impetus to investigate whether there had been any transfer of intellectual property was so that “it couldn’t happen to another team, to be honest, not just Aston Martin” and that it was “caretaker” for Red Bull to look into it.
“In terms of action with the FIA, I think the federation’s response is clear,” he said. “It appears that the car itself and the way to get it was legal, and we will not be taking any further action on this until we find something on our side.”
A number of Red Bull’s design staff have moved to Aston Martin in recent months, including its former chief aerodynamicist Dan Fallows , who started in his role as technical director for Silverstone in early April.
Wache accepted that it is impossible to “control people’s heads” and the ideas or methodologies that they carry between the teams, but that a transfer of intellectual property would be much more serious.
“It’s like a soccer team, the soccer players are the engineers of this business,” he assured. “I think that’s not what we’re looking for, it’s more [checking] if we have any electronic file leaks in the system that we can’t control what people do, and if people pass on what they know.”
“You can’t unlearn something. That’s not what we’re looking for,” he said.
