Red Bull hits back

Just a week after the engine mapping row at the German GP, Red Bull found itself engulfed in more intrigue after it emerged the team had to change a device on its car in Canada that allowed manual adjustment of its suspension.

Even though Red Bull strongly denied that it ever used the device to illegally change suspension settings while in parc ferme for improved ride height, having something on the car that could be altered by hand is against the regulations.

Team principal Christian Horner says the fact that his outfit has faced no penalties this season shows that it is playing things straight, and he does not understand why Red Bull's stance in pushing regulations to the limit should be criticised.

"The bottom line is that the result sheet comes out at the end of qualifying and the end of the race, and the car complies with the regulations," he said after the Hungarian Grand Prix. "All the rest is all bullshit.

"At the end of the day it is down to the FIA and the stewards to decide whether the car is legal or not. Every single time our car has been questioned by other teams, it has always complied with the rules."

As well as the engine mapping and ride height adjustment issues, Red Bull has also had to make changes to its floor design and wheel hubs this year following intervention from the FIA at various races.

Red Bull is no stranger to being in the firing line of other teams. The outfit was repeatedly dogged through its title winning 2010 and 2011 campaigns by suggestions its flexi-wing technology was a breach of the rules.

Horner added: "Of course the nature of F1 is that it is competitive, but the regulations are written in such a way that they are open to interpretation.

"From HRT to Red Bull, every single team interprets the rules, otherwise every single car would look the same. Part of our strength is our ingenuity and I don't think we should be criticised for being creative."