Red Bull hopes McLaren running car too low in Brazil

Verstappen struggled to challenge Hamilton with DRS in qualifying after suffering floor damage

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he believes McLaren "had a car that was too low" during Formula 1 qualifying in Brazil, which may have contributed to Sergio Perez's penalty for a DRS infringement.

Perez was handed a three-place grid penalty for the sprint race after qualifying third, having exceeded the maximum allowable 85mm rear wing opening with DRS open. Red Bull initially suspected that the gap was caused by floor damage sustained in qualifying, which may have caused the rear of the car to sag.

After analysing the data, Horner says he now believes the issue was actually caused by another team running their car too low, which would have had the effect of raising Perez's rear wing by virtue of creating a Venturi effect underneath it.

"We believe that one of our competitors had a car that was too low, which created a Venturi effect and sucked our car up at the back," Horner said. "That meant the rear wing was opening up more than it should have done, and that's why we got the penalty."

Horner did not name the team he believes was running their car too low, but he said he would be speaking to the FIA about the matter.

"It's something that we're going to be taking up with the FIA because it's not fair," Horner said. "We've got to make sure that everyone is running their cars legally."

If Red Bull's suspicions are correct, it would be a significant development in the championship battle. McLaren is one of Red Bull's main rivals for third place in the constructors' standings, and if they are found to have been running their car illegally, it could hand Red Bull a significant advantage.

The FIA has not yet commented on Red Bull's claims, but it is expected to investigate the matter further.