20/07/2020
NEWS STORY
As expected, following yesterday's Hungarian Grand Prix, Renault protested both Racing Point cars in a move that is likely to be repeated in two weeks at Silverstone.
While Racing Points insists that everything is above board, Renault insists that it is lodging the protests for the sake of the future of the sport.
Now, F1 managing director, Ross Brawn has weighed in to the issue, seemingly siding with the Silverstone-based outfit.
Brawn, who enjoyed title winning success with Benetton, Ferrari and hi own team, which subsequently became Mercedes, has a reputation for 'pushing the envelope', Bernie Ecclestone once suggesting that the Briton's legendary Jaguar XJR-14, which won the 1991 World Sportscar Championship, had "more tanks than the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge."
Speaking in the wake of the latest protest Brawn could offer little hope for Renault.
"Copying in Formula 1 is standard," he tells the official F1 website. "Every team has, in normal times, digital photographers in the pit lane out there taking thousands of photos of every car for analysis, with a view of copying the best ideas.
"We used to give our photographers a shopping list," he admits.
"Racing Point have just taken it to the next stage and done a more thorough job. There is not a single team in this paddock which has not copied something from another. I’d ask every Technical Director in the paddock to raise their hand if they haven’t copied someone else. You won’t see any hands. I have certainly copied others.
"Last year, Racing Point had access to, and could use, 2019-spec Mercedes brake ducts because they were not a listed part. This year, brake ducts are listed parts, so you have to design your own.
"However, Racing Point cannot forget the knowledge they acquired using the 2019 Mercedes brake ducts. I think it is illogical to think they can wipe their memory banks. It is a tricky problem and one for the FIA experts to resolve."