"Bulletproof" FIA system will prove "unique" brake ducts legal - Racing Point

Racing Point

"Bulletproof" FIA system will prove "unique" brake ducts legal - Racing Point

A decision is not expected until some point in August

Ian Parkes

Friday 17 July 2020 15:22 Updated: 15:31

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Racing Point believes the FIA will deliver a "bulletproof" verdict on the protest over its brake ducts it claims "are unique" and designed by the team.

Following the Styrian Grand Prix, Renault chose to protest Racing Point, citing the FIA's listed parts regulations, with the focus since emerging on the RP20's brake ducts and their similarity to those on Mercedes' 2019 title-winning W10.

Racing Point has already slated Renault's claims as "misconceived and poorly informed", with team principal Otmar Szafnauer now insistent the FIA will discover the truth, with the matter unlikely to be concluded until the middle of August at the earliest.

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"There were rumours of a potential protest in Australia, so our expectations were that something would happen," said Szafnauer.

"My reaction is we have to put together the evidence to show that we are completely legal, and we have three weeks to do that, and that's exactly what we are working on now.

"The process is bulletproof. We will provide all the evidence that was asked of us, and I think the outcome will be bulletproof as well, which is quite nice.

"There are things the camera can't see, especially the internal surfaces of a brake duct, for example, which we completely designed and developed ourselves.

"When you compare the two parts, the FIA will absolutely know that the brake ducts are unique, our IP, and are designed by us."

Renault executive director Marcin Budkowski claims Renault's protest was primarily launched "to clarify what is permissible and what isn't, for the rest of this season, for next season, but also what Formula 1 do we want in the future.

"It's important to clarify what level of exchanges are permissible. Is it permissible to have geometries from another team and use them on your car or not? We don't think that's the right model for F1 in the future.

"It's a protest beyond this race. It's what kind of model we want for the future of F1."

As to why the protest was aimed specifically at the brake ducts, Budkowski added: "Brake ducts are essential performance differentiators on today's Formula 1 cars.

"They're not just there to cool the brakes, they are an essential aerodynamic device, both at the front and the rear, in terms of extracting aero performance.

"But they are also essentially controlling the tyre temperatures, and we know that tyre temperatures are fairly important in Formula 1.

"The other reason is that there are surfaces that are visible to the eye, to the cameras of the numerous prhotographers that go up and down the pitlane, but there are surfaces that are impossible to see from the outside.

"It would be difficult to copy from pictures."