FIA boss declares Red Bull bib row a 'non-story' as Christian Horner calls out 'paranoia'

Christian Horner has accused 's rivals of "paranoia" amid accusations of illegal use of a device on their cars.

A tool on the RB20, located near the driver's footwell allows for the height of the 'bib' underneath the car to be changed. And some rivals have complained to , claiming that it is easy to access and possible to change even when under parc ferme conditions.

Red Bull owned up to the device's presence and, out of caution, FIA officials visited their garage at the to attach seals to the adjustable parts in that area. And, even though chief Zak Brown has called for further investigation, the FIA is hoping that will be the end of the matter.

The governing body's single seater director Nikolas Tombazis told : "It is a tight championship and people get excited about each others' cars. So we cannot definitively close the previous races or any insinuations there may be between teams in a very competitive environment, but in the present situation we believe it is a non-story, yes."

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Tombazis insisted there is no evidence that Red Bull did anything wrong and said the FIA had felt the need to intervene to shut down such suggestions from other teams. He explained: "At the previous race, it was pointed out to us that certain designs could allow a change of the height at the front of the car, which some people call a bib, in parc ferme.

"We did not have any indication or any proof that anybody was doing something like that - that would clearly be illegal under parc ferme regulations. So we said that from this race onwards, there must be no possibility of doing such a thing at all. So if a team had a design that would allow a quick change of that height, it would have to be sealed so they could not have access in parc ferme.

"All teams have adhered to that and, as far as we are concerned, that is under control. It is certainly not a story from now on. I think we have done all that is needed to stop there being any accusations."

Also speaking to the broadcaster, suggested McLaren were using the topic as a "distraction". He said: "Every car has a tool that they can adjust the front of the bib. Ours is located in front of the footwell and it has been there for over three years. You have got to get the pedals and other panels and pipework out in order to get to it, so it is like any other adjustment on the car.

"It would be easier to adjust a rear roll bar than it would be to get to that component. It is all part of the packaging in the front end of the chassis. I think there has been a bit of moaning from one of our rivals, and it is the FIA's job to look into these things. It is on a list of open-source components so it has been publicly available for the last three years. The FIA are happy with it, just to satisfy some paranoia elsewhere in the paddock.

"Sometimes, to perhaps distract from what is going on in your own house, sometimes you try to light a fire somewhere else. There was an awful lot of noise about rear wings... It is part of Formula 1 and I am sure there will be other things that come up between now and Abu Dhabi. The FIA have looked at it and they are more than happy with it."