Racing Point F1 row heading to court after rivals appeal

Ferrari and Renault are among five teams, including Racing Point, which notified the governing FIA of their intention to go to the International Court of appeal.

Published : Aug 12, 2020 09:35 IST , London

The Racing Point car is a visual copy of last year's Mercedes
The Racing Point car is a visual copy of last year's Mercedes
lightbox-info

The Racing Point car is a visual copy of last year's Mercedes

The row over Racing Point's Formula One car was heading for court after rivals Ferrari and Renault confirmed on Tuesday they would appeal a stewards' decision.

Silverstone-based Racing Point was fined 400,000 euros ($469,240.00) and docked 15 points in the constructors' championship after stewards upheld a Renault protest and ruled the team had not designed its own brake ducts.

READ |

The car is a visual copy of last year's Mercedes, which provides the engines and gearbox, and the argument is about the essence of being a constructor and how much of the car has to be designed in-house.

The team was allowed to continue racing the car, however, with stewards noting the breach was of the sporting regulations rather than non-compliance with the technical rules.

Some rival teams want a tougher punishment imposed on Racing Point, which is already back ahead of Renault despite the points deduction after last weekend's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Ferrari and Renault were among five teams, including Racing Point which says it has done nothing wrong, which notified the governing FIA last Sunday of its intention to go to the International Court of appeal.

McLaren said in a statement on Tuesday it had dropped out, but noted that the FIA would have to clarify the sporting and technical regulations.

It added that this would “protect Formula One as a sport where teams are clearly defined as Constructors, and removes the potential that the Formula One World Championship includes cars that are, in effect, copies of other competitors.

“McLaren Racing respects the decisions of Ferrari and Renault to pursue their appeals and will follow proceedings with interest,” the team said.

READ |

Claire Williams told an Australian GP podcast earlier that her team would “always stand by the philosophy that Formula One teams, constructors, should absolutely be designing and manufacturing the performance-related parts on their cars.

“Obviously this is the question, the debate, that's going on around Racing Point at the moment with their rear brake ducts,” added the deputy team principal. “We have submitted our intent to protest with the FIA, and it's up to the FIA.”

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment