Red Bull advisor Marko Helmut believes the FIA’s decision to ban the ability to change engine mapping before races is an attempt to help Ferrari get back into the championship race.

Formula 1’s governing body has clamped down on the practice of dramatically changing the mapping of an engine before qualifying – with Red Bull believed to be the biggest benefactors of this process -starting with this weekend’s European Grand Prix.

The Milton-Keynes based team have been virtually untouchable this season in qualifying, with championship leader Sebastian Vettel taking pole position for six of the seven races so far, while team-mate Mark Webber took the top spot for the Spanish Grand Prix in May.

The extreme mapping is said to be where Red Bull get their lighting one-lap pace from during qualifying, before they switch back to a safer set up for race day.

Red Bull also pioneered the controversial off-throttle blown diffuser that will be banned from use from the British Grand Prix next month.

The diffusers were introduced for the 2011 season and benefit from hot air and gasses being blown to the rear of the car even when drivers are not accelerating to dramatically increase the levels of downforce available – something which is seen as illegally altering the aerodynamic properties of the car.

The FIA are also keen to clamp down on the device because of the extra fuel it uses to ignite and create exhaust gasses when drivers are off-throttle does not fit in with their pledge to make F1 more environmentally friendly.

“This (the rule changes) definitely favours Ferrari and this decision seems to have been taken to give them an advantage” – Red Bull advisor Marko Helmut

Marko believes the move by Jean Todt, president of the FIA, is an attempt to slow them down and halt their runaway charge to both constructors and driver championships – to the benefit of Ferrari.

Previous innovations such as the F-Duct and the double diffuser were only banned at the end of the season, something which prompted Marko to describe the decision to ban make the rule changes mid-season this time round as “strange”.

“If the others cannot copy us, they ask for our ideas to be banned,” he told La Stampa. “A decision like this is the current season is strange and arouses suspicion.”

“This definitely favours Ferrari and this decision seems to have been taken to give them an advantage.” He added.

But the former driver insists that Red Bull will be prepared for the changes and can continue their winning ways this season that has seen Vettel race to a 60 point lead in the drivers championship, a sentiment that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner echoed.

“We would not be Red Bull if we did not already have ideas about how to mitigate the effect (of the ban),” Marko commented.

With Red Bull’s advantage likely to be reduced severely because of the rule changes,  McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh welcomed the changes that mean no team will be able to switch their mapping between qualifying  and race day.

“There are some changes this weekend in that the FIA will enforce a strict parc ferme regulation, which will mean that the car as qualified will be the one that races,” Whitmarsh said during Thursday’s Vodafone phone-in.

“Based on what I have just told you we should be hopeful on that. But I think we have got to assume that everyone has been working hard.”

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