Good morning all
5 teams are now appealing the FIA decision. Racing Point are saying the decision was wrong and Renault, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are saying the punishment is to light. The thing is the FIA found them guilty under sporting regulation and not technical regulations, this is because the ducts comply with the technical regs
LOL
The brake ducts were not listed parts last year and only became listed this year, so surely the whole thing is about when did Pacing Point get the drawings, if it was last year then the ducts must be legal as Racing Point claim. The FIA’s extensive stewards statement outlined its arguments in detail, but it is clear that just as many questions as answers have been prompted by the outcome. There is no denying it is a complicated matter. The main defence from Racing Point relates to the transition of brake ducts from non-listed to listed parts for 2020.
Its argument is that under the 2019 regulations it could purchase brake ducts and CAD drawings from Mercedes as non-listed parts, and in doing so be able to use that knowledge to assist in the design of it 2020 parts which would then be considered listed. The FIA acknowledged that the transitional nature of these regulations did leave the door ajar for some ambiguity. However, the overriding factors that must be taken into account given that brake ducts are now considered listed parts, are whether the team carried out enough work of its own for the design to be considered theirs and not that of another competitor.
As such, the FIA decided that only the rear brake ducts are truly in breach of being exact replicas of the design used by Mercedes in 2019 and have applied penalties and fines on that basis. This is based on a view that Racing Point had access to data from Mercedes late in 2018 / early 2019 that allowed it to design, build and optimise its own brake duct design in a way that not only complimented its chosen heat management targets but also its aerodynamic package for that season.
The development lineage of the brake ducts throughout 2019 was fundamental in the FIA’s decision. So whilst the RP20 and W10’s front brake ducts are also very similar in design, Racing Point had conducted enough of its own research and development for them to be considered an independent design. However, if we take a look at the timeline involved, it becomes ever clearer that there’s a very fine line that’s been trodden to come to that conclusion.
Where the FIA’s decision is unclear is on why it has interpreted this year’s front brake ducts as a Racing Point design, owing to the development it did of its own during 2019. If we look back at what it designed on its own last season, albeit with the guidance of the data made available to it by Mercedes, the designs used were only a facsimile of the original, with alterations clearly made to accommodate its own DNA. Crucially, a version of the front brake ducts being used this year never featured on the RP19. Yet the ones on the RP20 are as close to a replica of the brake ducts introduced by Mercedes in Japan last year as you’re going to find, suggesting there’s more Mercedes DNA coursing through them than Racing Point’s.
Its one big fucking mess
Ferrari have changed both their car engines
Lando right up there after FP3
www.formula1.com
but just tuned in for quali.
