Championship contender Lewis Hamilton has said that he believes that the Red Bull Racing team had to redesign their car on the back of the new stricter FIA flex tests, despite the caffeinated team insisting that they have not made changes.
The new test were brought in for the Monza weekend in an effort to end the flexible wing row that was threatening to rumble on literally forever.
The Red Bull and Ferrari front wings had been seen to flex at speed in photographs and video footage during the Hungarian and Belgian weekends, with McLaren suggesting to the FIA that the teams were circumventing the ban on flexible bodywork.
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, which Red Bull dominated, the FIA increased the loading used to test the front wing endplates in Belgium, and extended the tests to the floor of the car in Italy.
Since the tests were made stricter, the Red Bulls have enjoyed less of a pace advantage, though the team insists that they have not made any changes to their car.
But Hamilton told the Bild newspaper this week that he felt that the team had made changes, and felt the FIA had made a "good decision" in changing the tests.
"In Hungary they were 2 seconds per lap faster than the rest of us. It is simply impossible to have a lead like that," Hamilton whined when asked about the Red Bulls.
In terms of whether he felt the Red Bull had been running illegally, he simply replied: "We have always kept to the rules.
"Our people wondered if their car was legal and we asked the FIA. After that Red Bull had to rebuild their car and take a step back."
He added: "It was a good decision by the FIA."
He also said that he was not taking any of the recent comments about his driving to heart, after retiring from the second race in a row last weekend in Singapore.
"It's normal that, at the end of a season, the mind games begin," he smiled, free from irony.
"I'm strong enough and ready for it. I'm not worried, but I think it's best if you just do your talking on the track."
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