Red Bull escape FIA action

Red Bull have escaped FIA action after being reported to the German Grand Prix stewards for an apparent breach of the technical regulations.

Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey, and representatives from engine supplier Renault, met with the stewards at Hockenheim after FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer had questioned the engine torque map of the cars of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber.

However, there was insufficient evidence to punish Red Bull, who would almost certainly have raced under protest if they had been found guilty and either been forced to start from the pit lane or excluded from the grand prix.

The stewards have made clear they do not agree with the argument of Newey and Renault but the map being used did not break the wording of the regulations, which will now certainly be tightened ahead of next Sunday's race in Hungary.

The suggestion was the engine's throttle is more open than it should be for a given accelerator position.

The effect is more air through the engine, and in turn over the exhaust to aid aerodynamics and downforce.

Whilst teams can use exhaust gases to blow over certain areas of the rear bodywork, they cannot alter the torque maps for greater engine performance which would in turn produce more gases.

An FIA statement, however read: "The stewards received a report from the FIA technical delegate, along with specific ECU (electronic control unit) data from Red Bull Racing cars 1 (Vettel) and 2 (Webber).

"The stewards met with team representatives and the representative of the engine supplier Renault.

"While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of article 5.5.3 of the Formula One technical regulations, and therefore decide to take no further action."