T-tray controversy, Christian Horner laughs: “If you think there’s a handbrake or a lever, I’m sorry to disappoint you”. Christian Horner has accused rival teams of "paranoia" amid T-tray accusations.

Christian Horner downplays and mocks McLaren
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner doesn’t want to waste any more time on the T-tray issue and intends to put the controversy to rest quickly. Despite the extraordinary (sprint) pole secured by Max Verstappen on Friday in Austin, which will allow the Dutchman to start from the front again, the paddock remains abuzz over a situation that, after the flexible wings scandal, threatens to once again overshadow the on-track action.

While Zak Brown has called for more thorough checks from the FIA, Frederic Vasseur has taken a more cautious approach, though he admitted that if “it really happened (changing the setup under parc fermé conditions, editor’s note), it would be more than cheating but a huge deal.”

Statements that were immediately sent back to the sender by Red Bull’s team principal, who downplayed the incident in an interview with Sky Sports: “I think there have been some complaints from one of our rivals, and it’s up to the FIA to look into these things.”

“(The device) is listed among open-source components, so it’s been publicly available for the last three years,” the Briton added – “The FIA is satisfied. I think it acted just to perhaps satisfy some paranoia in other areas of the paddock. Every car has a tool to adjust the front part of the bib. Ours is located at the front, ahead of the pedal box, and it’s been there for more than three years.” – he pointed out – “But to reach it, you have to remove the pedals and other panels and ducts. So, it’s like any other adjustment on the car.”

Then came the jab at the rivals: “If you think there’s some kind of handbrake or lever that drivers can activate with a low, medium, or high setting, I’m really sorry to disappoint you. There isn’t.”

Christian Horner then explained how it wouldn’t make sense for designers to place such a device in such a difficult-to-reach spot: “It would be easier to adjust the rear anti-roll bar than to reach that component. It’s all part of the packaging and the front part of the chassis. I believe that sometimes, to distract from what’s going on in your own house, you try to start a fire somewhere else.” – the Red Bull team principal concluded at the end of the Austin Sprint Qualifying session.