Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff has hit out at rival teams in the wake of FIA Stewards verdict on Racing Point.
Racing Point has been fined €400,000 and docked 15 constructors’ championship points after Renault successfully protested the team’s brake ducts, which the FIA has ruled count as Mercedes’ design and not Racing Point’s.
This whole saga mainly surrounds on non-listed parts that Mercedes sold to Racing Point during 2019 season becoming listed parts that Racing Point had to design itself for 2020.
Racing Point has replicated the aerodynamic philosophy of its engine and gearbox supplier Mercedes’ 2019 car W10 for this season, but apart from the physical brake ducts it received last year as part of non-listed parts regulation, Racing Point insists that design has been done entirely from photography.
Wolff about the Racing Point stewards’ verdict.
On Friday, sky sports f1 reporter Simon Lazenby asked Mercedes boss Toto, whether delivery of 2019 brake ducts in 2020 January is the reason behind the Racing Point punishment . Toto replied
“I think it’s totally irrelevant everybody knows in Formula1 you produce brake ducts or any parts based on drawings,based on CAD Designs, based on your own development and the Racing Point brake terms were very long time before the end of year and the brake ducts that was supplied to help them out because we thought that simply their parts weren’t ready and had no effect or the hold anymore on their design of brake ducts it’s clearly stated by FIA in their 10 or 12 page verdict.
When Jenson Button asked Toto to clarify on difference between Technical regulation breach and Sporting regulation breach. Toto responded saying...
“This is where the complexity starts, they didn’t breach any technical regulation in my opinion, because in 2019 those parts were non listed parts and they became listed in the following year.
“There was no concrete regulation or technical directive that said you aren’t allowed to use 2019 parts that you have gotten and then redesigned yourself to whatever point in 2020.It simply doesn’t say that, so this is exactly what Racing Point did.
“Now the interesting bit is that all the other teams seem to think that they haven’t designed them themselves, which they did because there’s a thousand drawings around and they’ve re-engineered them.And it comes to the point, it’s an interpretation of a regulation that doesn’t exist.
“And I am sorry we have case in 2015 with the Haas, where Haas had the full car from the Ferrari, there was not a single part that was designed from Haas but everything was done from Ferrari and they used the loophole because they were not a competitor and they put the car on track that was highly competitive because it was a Ferrari copy.So we have seen these loopholes and you know we took it on the chin back then, we want the clarification, fair enough like you know but the clarification came they weren’t the competitor because they haven’t entered and that’s it you have to get on with it and try to beat them, so get on with it.
When asked about possibility of more protest in coming races for other parts inside Racing Point car. Toto insisted
“What benefit should Mercedes have by stepping even one inch over the line and supplying them any parts that are listed? We wouldn’t do that.It’s some things that people make up in their minds, because they are supposedly angry with themselves.”
