Whiting denies changing rules to hurt Red Bull

Charlie Whiting on Friday denied the FIA’s mid-season clampdown on blown exhausts is a political move aimed at slowing down the dominant Red Bulls.

"I am aware of some stories being written but to be frank with you I know it is not a political one," the governing body’s technical delegate told reporters at Valencia.

Red Bull team figures including Adrian Newey, Christian Horner and the drivers of the RB7 have been pointing out that earlier innovations, like the F-duct and double diffusers, were banned only at the end of a season.

"I know it is a purely technical intervention from our side and I feel perfectly comfortable with that," insisted Whiting.

A distinction between the F-ducts and double diffusers and the blown exhaust issue is that while the FIA deemed the former as clever rules interpretations, it believes using the engine as an aerodynamic aid is illegal.

"What we are doing is stopping people breaking the existing rules," said Whiting. "We are not changing the rules; they’re staying the same."

And he clarified that changing engine maps between qualifying and the race has not been completely banned.

"They (the drivers) are allowed to change things that they can do with a switch, on the steering wheel for example," he said, explaining that connecting laptops to the cars to change the settings is now forbidden.

Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn backed Whiting’s action and said it has probably prevented some teams from lodging official protests.

"And that (protests) wouldn’t be very good for formula one," said the Briton. "The stewards would probably find it quite a difficult argument to resolve and it would probably end up in the appeal courts and that’s no good."