Christian Horner on 'Green Bull' Aston Martin: "A criminal offence"

One of the biggest talking points of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend so far is the emergence of the all-new Aston Martin car that appears to be sporting the same side-pods that can be found on the Red Bull RB18. After a protest from Red Bull, and the FIA ruling the car legal, Christian Horner gave his thoughts to Sky Sports after FP2.

The Dan Fallows conundrum

In January of this year it was announced that Red Bull's Head of Aerodynamics Dan Fallows was moving to Aston Martin to become their Technical Director. This weekend Aston Martin have revealed an all-new car that looks suspisciously similar to this year's race-winning Red Bull. Red Bull boss Christian Horner suspects foul play.

"Well imitation is the biggest form of flattery at the end of the day. It's no coincidence that a few individuals that have transferred from Red Bull to Aston Martin over the winter at the early part of the season," Horner spoke after FP2. "It was brought to our attention by the FIA early on in the week when they said 'We have a car that looks remarkably like yours. Can we have a list of your levers? To see where they went.' That immediately raises alarm bells."

"What is permissible that we see all along the paddock is personnel moving from team to team after gardening leave but what they take in their head that is fair game, but what isnt fair and what we wouldn't accept is if there as been any transfer of IP. We won't disclose where we are with certain personnel but a breach of IP is a criminal offence. We invest millions and millions into it."

Impacting the Midfield?

Aston Martin have a history of 'copying' other cars as in 2020 they infamously created the 'Pink Mercedes' that brought Sergio Perez's first Grand Prix victory. While it seems unlikely the team will be challenging the top of the field this year, it could have an impact on the smaller teams, or so Horner says. 

"In reality it's the precedent that it sets. It's not the biggest of issues for us unless Aston Martin start beating us, but for the teams that are in that midfield it could have a material affect on them. What we want to ensure is that the IP is protected."