Stella confirms talks with the FIA about brake drums

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella insisted that he was surprised over how a brake drum hole “escalated” to become a major Formula 1 paddock talking point, albeit he confirmed talks with the FIA about the component.

Ahead of last Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, it emerged that Red Bull had suspected McLaren had been using a trick to keep tyre temperatures under control. German publication Auto, Motor und Sport’s lead journalist Michael Schmidt claimed that Red Bull discovered a hole on the brake drums of the MCL38 that is believed to cool tyres down.

“Red Bull recently discovered an additional hole on the brake ventilation drums of the McLaren MCL38 at the front and rear that shouldn’t be there".

"According to Red Bull’s observations, the holes were apparently open at some races. After a complaint, the FIA took a closer look. At the last two grands prix, the sensor access points were closed, as required by the rules.”

The rules allow a hole in the brake drums, but only for Friday’s practice sessions, making additional measures possible. However, it is not permitted to use any hole for cooling purposes.

According to the rules, teams are allowed to mount sensors in the brake drums in the free training sessions on Friday to collect data. From Saturday, the holes must either disappear or be covered.

Speaking to Sky F1 about the allegations, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella insisted that he was surprised to see how a brake drum hole “escalated” to become a major Formula 1 paddock talking point

The Italian confirmed that the FIA had been in touch to clarify that the holes needed covering.

"Actually, this matter is very simple. This is a hole to access a sensor and we got the clarification from the FIA that this hole is not allowed and we just taped it.

"It’s a very, very simple matter which for some reason seems to have escalated to become a topic in the paddock. But nothing of that kind," concluded Stella.