Not only does Toto Wolff have “no doubt” the McLaren is legal but he says, from a management point of view, it’s wrong to throw out “cheating” allegations because someone else is doing a better job.

After years of Mercedes being the target of Red Bull’s ire, and the occasional allegation, it’s now McLaren who are getting the brunt of it.

McLaren’s tyre advantage catch the eye

The latest spat between Red Bull and McLaren stems from the MCL39’s superior tyre management, with Red Bull reportedly suspecting McLaren of putting a small amount of water into their tyres for cooling.

The initial reports sprang up at the Singapore GP when concerns were raised when moisture was spotted inside the wheel rims after the tyres were stripped from the cars after the race.

However, Pirelli, Formula 1’s sole tyre supplier, found no signs of abnormal behaviour but that did little to curb Red Bull’s reported suspicions.

According to a new report on Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull have turned to thermal imaging cameras to capture the temperature of the tyre cooling ducts on the MCL39 during pit stops.

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has told the “one team” that “focuses on that strategy” of protesting more than others, to lodge one against McLaren if they have suspicions about the car.

Toto Wolff has added to his voice to the saga, the Mercedes team principal backing McLaren as he has “no doubt” that their car is legal.

“I think that the team around Zak [Brown], Andrea [Stella], Rob Marshall… these are good people with integrity,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com, in Miami.

“If in the past, [we] often say: ‘Well, let’s look at whether there’s something borderline’, but I have no doubt that these guys [McLaren] stay within the rules.

“It’s just really good development [with] that car. They’ve understood how to manage the tyre much better than everybody else and, in my opinion, it’s totally legit.”

“Also,” he continued, “from a team management point of view, we should never when somebody is doing a better job than you, we should not look at that and say ‘cheating’, because that’s not the right attitude anyway.

“So we just need to become better, and eventually not get 30 or 35 seconds over 55 laps.”

And better is Mercedes’ target with Wolff conceding the MCL39 and even the Red Bull RB21 have better tyre wear than his team’s W16.

“We’re just not good on with the tyres on an extended run,” he said.

“McLaren is showing how it can be done, and to a degree, I think that Red Bull, with Max, they’re managing it better.

“I would say we’re solid in what we’re doing, but they are definitely doing an excellent job by being able to go fast around the corners without overheating them.

“So this is what we need to look up to and engineer our way out.”

Quizzed on McLaren’s advantage after the team claimed another 1-2 result in a Grand Prix in Miami to extend their lead in both championships, Wolff says the building blocks for it were put in place last year already.

Asked what made the McLaren better, he replied: “I don’t know, but I think if you put a lot of emphasis on how you develop it mechanically, then you will have an advantage.

“It started two years ago in Austria, they brought an update that was much greater than they expected, and part of the development since then was also nurturing the tyres in the right way.

“We just need to, we just need to be better. We just need to understand. We need to find out where do we need to focus our attention in terms of development. What are the main performance contributors.

“And we are on it, completely on it. We are on it. We’re trying to find out. We’re experimenting, and we definitely be able to change.”

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