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Amanda Newey tells Zak Brown what he should have done with Christian Horner after travelling together

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A row between the main Formula 1 title rivals erupted during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend after the FIA forced McLaren to change their rear wing after a complaint from Red Bull.

McLaren was spotted using a ‘Mini-DRS’ system during the Azerbaijan GP on Oscar Piastri’s car, whereby the upper flap of his rear wing deflected upwards and opened the DRS slot gap on the straights.

Zak Brown insisted the rear wing was legal as it passed all the deflection tests, but Red Bull had their suspicions due to the top speeds Piastri was able to achieve during the race.

Straight-line speed was key to his defence from Charles Leclerc throughout the race, and the rear wing prompted discussion over whether it was within the spirit of the regulations.

The FIA inspected the part during practice for the Singapore GP and subsequently told them to revert to an older specification, as it did not conform with the Technical Directive issued to the teams by the governing body.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis subsequently explained the reason why the governing body decided not to disqualify Piastri was because they felt it ‘didn’t seem appropriate’ given the circumstances.

Following the row, Brown and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner were pictured leaving Singapore on the same flight after the race in a post on Instagram, with Adrian Newey’s wife commenting on what he should have done.

Amanda Newey tells Zak Brown he should have made Christian Horner wear McLaren merchandise

F1 team principals are known for their rivalry at the race track, but they are also friends and often share travel plans given how far away some of the races are on the calendar.

Heading back from Singapore, Horner shared the same private jet flight as Brown and the pair posed for a photo on the McLaren boss’s Instagram.

Brown captioned the post with: “Peace in F1 has been restored on flight home (where’s Netflix when you need them!) – but the battle will continue on track. What an awesome sport!”

This prompted a response from Amanda Newey, who said if Brown made Horner wear McLaren merchandise it would have been ‘quite something’ given their rivalry on track.

Amanda Newey comments on Zak Brown and Christian Horner travelling together after the Singapore Grand Prix
Amanda Newey comments on Zak Brown and Christian Horner travelling together after the Singapore Grand Prix. Cr. (zbrownceo) © 2024 INSTAGRAM FROM META.

McLaren extends lead in Constructors’ Championship over Red Bull

McLaren overtook Red Bull for the first time in the Constructors’ Championship standings at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and extended their lead at the Singapore GP.

The victory from Lando Norris and strong third place from Oscar Piastri enabled them to extend from 20 points to 41 points heading into the final six rounds of the season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Red Bull is currently more focused on defending Max Verstappen’s crown according to Helmut Marko, as they attempt to rectify the problems they have faced with the RB20 in recent races.

The team went as far as using outgoing RB driver Daniel Ricciardo to set the fastest lap on the final tour of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, in a bid to take away as many points from Norris as possible.