McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said Formula 1 and the FIA should do all they can to avoid another lengthy debate about technical regulations in the wake of the controversy over Red Bull's engine torque maps in Germany. Neale said a swift and firm resolution would be in the interests of the teams and the sport as a whole.
Last year, the ruling over blown diffusers caused protracted arguments and several contradictory decisions over the British Grand Prix weekend, before teams finally agreed to a ban on the concept. Neale said that he hopes to avoid a similar situation, pledging his support to both the FIA and its technical delegate Charlie Whiting.
"I think we have all worked really hard for the first six months of this year with the FIA and Charlie to be really clear about what is allowed and what isn't. I pledge that support again, [because] I think they have a very difficult job here," Neale said. "I hope that we don't get into lots of re-writing of exhaust regulations like we did last year, because that provided a reasonable amount of upset and difficulty.
"In terms of us as teams and the sport, consistency of regulations is good. I think we just need to put a lot more effort into enforcing the regulation, rather than continually rewriting."
Neale said he could not empirically quantify just how much performance Red Bull was gaining.
"The honest answer is I really don't know," Neale said when asked what impact the FIA's decision to force Red Bull to change engine maps could have. "None of us really know what it is that antagonized the FIA so much to provoke Jo Bauer into issuing the note he did on Sunday morning. It was quite unusual step – I don't think the FIA would have referred to the stewards unless they had very serious concerns.
"It's really not for us to know or tell exactly what the Renault engine is doing in the Red Bull – and therefore how much advantage they get from it – because it is an integrated performance package. But I know we are not the only ones on the grid who are looking at it very carefully."