Ferrari slump not FIA's fault

The FIA are certain that Ferrari's sudden drop of speed has nothing to do with a sensor being attached to the Scuderia's car to monitor electrical power. After several races of enjoying a car quicker than Mercedes, Ferrari have dropped back behind the Silver Arrows by a distance in recent grands prix.

Ferrari were accepted to have the fastest car between the Canadian and Italian Grands Prix, but Sebastian Vettel only won three of those races, with Lewis Hamilton picking up four victories and adding three more in Singapore, Russia and Japan since.

It leaves Hamilton potentially a win at the United States GP away from winning a fifth world title – provided Vettel does not follow him home in second place.

Ferrari's extra pace was reportedly down to finding a way of harvesting electrical power, prompting the FIA to take a look. Although the probe has seemingly been restarted, race director Charlie Whiting says it has not caused Ferrari's loss of performance.

Whiting said: "There's a drop in form, and I think there's some speculation that it's due to this magic sensor that we've made them put on.

"I'm not going to go any further on that. I would say from an engine performance perspective, we don't agree with what is being suggested. There is no link at all.

"We spoke on Saturday morning, and it's clear now. I don't think again I should tell you what we discussed, but it's all clear on both sides."

Asked to elaborate on when the sensor was added, Whiting was unmoved: "If I do that, unfortunately I will be telling you about Ferrari's car and hence I'll be telling the other teams about Ferrari's car.

"That's not something I can do."

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