Newey: We took it right to the edge
Red Bull's chief technical officer was speaking in a documentary, where he responded to accusations from other teams that they resorted to illegal means in order to get the most out of their car.
On more than one occasion the FIA were forced to close off loopholes during the 2012 campaign – loopholes that Newey and his team were only too happy to take advantage of.
Some rivals questioned the legality of a 'hole' in the floor ahead of the rear wheels at Monaco, while Red Bull was also forced to alter its engine maps ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
But while Newey concedes they flirted with the edge of what is and isn't allowed, he's adamant they never crossed it.
"It seemed like every race we were accused of doing something illegal," Newey said. "The car of course was using the regulations to the edge, that's to me what you should do in Formula 1.
"There's no such thing as the spirit of the regulations, it's the black and white print of 'you can't do this, you can do that.'
"We took the 'can do' bits right to the edge. The bottom line is the car was legal, [and] we won the races.
"Since 2010 in particular the level of sniping at us just got silly, to be honest," he added.
Red Bull's cunning when it comes to pushing the legal boundaries has prompted Fernando Alonso to urge Ferrari to follow suit if they wish to challenge their rivals in 2013.