Red Bull denies breaking in-season test ban

An initially innocuous ’tweet’ by a Swiss test driver has stirred up a controversy involving the championship-leading team Red Bull.

Neel Jani wrote on his Twitter account this week that he "really worked my neck out" on Sunday during a 400 kilometre test at the wheel of the RB7.

The test is believed to have taken place at the Idiada venue in Spain.

The 27-year-old’s comment raised eyebrows because the only testing allowed during the season is to be conducted in a straight line, but Jani said his neck was twinged due to "high speed cornering".

The offending tweets have been deleted.

A Red Bull spokesperson denied to f1fanatic.co.uk that Jani’s test broke the rules.

"We did not complete high speed cornering and tested within the permitted regulations — which is an aero test carried out on FIA approved straight line or constant radius sites," the spokesperson said.

Red Bull also claimed Jani did not write the tweets himself.