Adrian Newey insists Red Bull is right to push the limits of Formula 1 regulations in order to maximize the performance of its car.
The team was at the center of several rules controversies in 2012, with the FIA having to close off loopholes during the campaign. Some of Red Bull's rivals questioned the legality of a "hole" in the chassis floor ahead of the rear wheels at Monaco, while it was forced to alter its engine maps ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. But with Fernando Alonso recently urging Ferrari to push the limit of the regulations in order to match its rivals, Newey insists doing so is simply part of F1.
"It seemed like every race we were accused of doing something illegal," Newey said in a documentary produced by Red Bull Racing. "The car of course was using the regulations to the edge, that's to me what you should do in Formula 1.
"There's no such thing as the 'spirit' of the regulations, it's the black and white of, 'You can't do this, you can do that.' We took the can do bits right to the edge.
"The bottom line is the car was legal, [and] we won the races."