Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has played down comments that Ferrari used illegal tactics in Spain last weekend.
Red Bull team boss plays down comments that Ferrari illegally shadowed pit stops
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has played down comments made by Helmut Marko that Ferrari used illegal tactics to shadow their pit stops in Spain last weekend.
Marko, who acts as right-hand man to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, suggested that Ferrari had used "espionage" during Sunday's race in Barcelona to track the pit stops made by Mark Webber in order to benefit Fernando Alonso, who was leading him at the time.
Speaking to Germany's
RTLafter the race, Marko said: "We have noticed that Ferrari are doing some kind of espionage.
"We called Mark Webber into the pits relatively late for his first stop and yet Ferrari managed to bring Alonso into the pits (at the same time). They have thus responded to us."
Alonso shadowed Webber at his first three stops, with suspicions aroused as Red Bull made late calls for the Australian to pit each time.
However, Red Bull sold Ferrari a dummy at the fourth and final stops by falsely sending out their pit crew.
Although Ferrari then brought Alonso in again, Webber stayed out and used the clear air he now enjoyed in his rival's absence to take fourth place.
Horner has now taken steps to avoid inflaming the situation and said that rather than using espionage, Ferrari would likely have picked up tell-tale signs from Red Bull's pit crew that a stop was imminent.
"There were some comments about Ferrari spying on us, and I think that has been misinterpreted," he said.
"The situation is that pit stops are all part of the game, and Ferrari's only way to beat Mark was to cover him in the pit stops.
"They obviously saw something we were doing that was giving away when we were going to stop and would call in Fernando.
"It wasn't coincidence because every time we called Mark in, then Fernando would come down the pit lane, which is quite within the regulations.
"In the end we made a dummy call which saw Fernando come in, but Mark stayed out, although by that time he had lost so much time to Jenson (Button) and Lewis (Hamilton) that a podium wasn't possible.
"It's only like a dummy pass in a rugby game, or any other sporting activity."
Change
Horner also said that Red Bull would change their pit stop procedure in order to try and throw Ferrari off the scent, starting at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.
"I think Helmut was convinced they (Ferrari) knew when we were pitting, which they did," added Horner.
"But that's more likely to do with one of our procedures, movement in the garage, something like that, which is absolutely allowed.
"I don't know if the mechanics were putting their hands in their pockets at the wrong time, or somebody was picking up a tyre.
"So we've changed our procedure this weekend to ensure we are less transparent."
Horner also dismissed the suggestion Ferrari were listening in to Red Bull's radio transmissions.
"The radios are digital these days and tend to be encrypted, so to hack a radio would be very difficult, if not impossible," he added.
"The teams are listening to the transmissions from FOM (Formula One Management) and there are times when Fernando likes to talk in Italian.
"All the teams are listening to transmissions that go out on FOM, and if there is something that can be gleaned, then it's knowledge that is useful for strategic decisions."
