Ferrari to withdraw Racing Point appeal if FIA provide 'copying' reassurances

Ferrari

Ferrari to withdraw Racing Point appeal if FIA provide 'copying' reassurances

The Scuderia and Racing Point are still pursuing the appeal process

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Saturday 5 September 2020 09:09

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto claims the team will withdraw its appeal against Racing Point if the FIA can guarantee "it will not be possible to copy" in the future.

Renault, McLaren and Williams have all dropped out of the appeal process after being left satisfied by clarifications offered by the FIA that copying to the degree seen at Racing Point on the RP20 will be outlawed in the future.

While Ferrari will have been offered the same clarifications and commitments as its rivals, Binotto claims to still need further assurances from the governing body.

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"We have appealed the decision of the stewards of the past races," Binotto said. "The reason for this is that we are fully convinced that what Racing Point did this season is not right.

"We believe that is against the principle of our sport and cannot happen in the future.

"In this respect, we are asking and seeking for clarity with the FIA if regulations will be put in place of technical directives for the future in 2021 where we are pretty sure it will not be possible to copy.

"Eventually we are ready to withdraw our appeal."

It is widely accepted the appeal, and subsequent discussions, are more on the wider topic of copying in the sport than simply the Racing Point brake ducts.

Following the announcement of the sanction handed to Racing Point at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed he had witnessed an unnamed team using a 3D camera in an attempt to scan the W10 during 2019.

Questioned on the morality of this, Binotto, who confessed to not being aware of the facts in this instance, commented: "I think that looking at competitors, trying to understand what they do, trying to study their car has been part of F1 history and I do not see anything bad in that.

"I think that to copy an entire design is against the spirit because that is IP.

"Myself, if I would be Mercedes, I would have protested someone copying myself."

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