Red Bull have FIA screws tightened after Monaco win
Roar Pro By Mat Coch, 5 Jun 2012 Mat Coch is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Mark Webber, Monaco grand prix, Motorsport, Red Bull, Sebastien Vettel
The FIA’s reinterpretation of the technical regulations surrounding holes in the floor has caused a stir in recent days, a story broken by this writer on Saturday.
The reigning double world champions had interpreted the regulations in a manner which meant it could effectively direct air under the car to increase downforce.
It was a design the FIA saw and initially deemed legal, though admitting it was a clever interpretation of the regulations. That interpretation, it has since been revealed, was taking advantage of regulations which did not expressly forbid the presence of a hole in the floor ahead of the rear wings.
It wasn’t in the spirit of the rules, but as McLaren’s Technical Director Paddy Lowe said some weeks ago, there is no such thing.
In most sporting categories the rules are written in such a way that unless it’s stated that you can, it’s to be assumed that you can’t. Formula One, the beast that it is, does not adhere to this standard practice, which goes a long way to encouraging designers to exploit loopholes.
Rival teams caught on to what Red Bull had done and threatened to protest in Monaco. Those protests never happened, thankfully, and instead the matter was pursued behind closed doors. It saved a lot of red faces and uncertainty as a protest post-race is never especially welcome. Instead as we head in to Canada we know who won in Monaco and we know what Red Bull must do to comply with the regulations, it’s a much tidier outcome.
Discussions among the sports Technical Working Group took place on the Monday after the Moanco Grand Prix and eventually resulted in the FIA sending a clarification to teams on Friday night, accepting the technical arguments presented by Red Bull’s rivals. The note means Red Bull will be forced to change its car for the Canadian Grand Prix, though no penalties will be applied to the Milton Keynes squad.
It’s not the first time the FIA has been forced to clarify an interpretation of the regulations mid-season, without applying penalties as a result. Winding the clock back to 2003, the sport’s governing body clarified how the tread width of tyres would be measured. This had an impact to Michelin shod teams, which had benefitted from an exaggerated contact patch on the front tyres. Effectively the ruling declared the 2003 Michelin rubber illegal, though nothing came of it and things quietly changed for 2004.
The latest ruling means Mark Webber’s Monaco win and that of Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain will remain safe, at least for the moment. Since breaking the story yesterday a source has confirmed to this writer that it is possible, as the sport reaches a climax, the results could be protested.
Should Red Bull be leading the championship by a handful of points heading in to the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix it not beyond the realm of possibility that a protest could be submitted against the Monaco and Bahrain results. Teams are able to protest previous results until the end of the championship year, and while such a protest seems incredibly unlikely, it is worth noting the possibility.
There are millions of dollars at stake, and Formula One has a history of shooting itself in the foot for reasons of self-interest. Red Bull’s results are therefore safe, but only for the moment.
It could be almost six months before an official protest is lodged.
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The Crowd Says (4) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
- Explore:
- Mark Webber, Monaco grand prix, Motorsport, Red Bull, Sebastien Vettel
June 5th 2012 @ 10:46am
Mark Young said | June 5th 2012 @ 10:46am | Report comment
Matt thank you for joining us on the roar.
It is a great credit to this site that they can get an F1 scribe of your quality to write on out Sport.
I look forward to reading more of your articles!
Enjoy the rest of this compelling season!!
June 5th 2012 @ 11:25am
Mat Coch said | June 5th 2012 @ 11:25am | Report comment
Thanks for the kind words Mark.
June 5th 2012 @ 7:21pm
Darron Hughes said | June 5th 2012 @ 7:21pm | Report comment
Mat, you have no source – its a crock. The results won’t be protested at the end of the season.
If you do have a source, how about you fill us in on how things are at Maranello these days, who pulls the strings, why our driver of choice wasn’t there last season and who’ll make the decision for him to be there next year eh?
…. Oh and tyre pressure issues for our guy at the season ender 2010.
Lots of things to fill us in on, I’m sure….
June 7th 2012 @ 12:10pm
Mat Coch said | June 7th 2012 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
There is a very good chance the result won’t be protested, you’re correct, however the facility for such a protest to take part does exist. The triggers for such a protest would likely be financial and from the back end of the grid rather than the front runners where money is less abundant. Substantial prize money is awarded to tenth in the constructors championship, in the region of US$30million, and that is a sum worth fighting for.
Again, as you mention Darron, it is unlikely however entirely possible within the regulations.
By ‘our driver’ am I correct in assuming Mark Webber?
Mark is on a rolling 1-year deal with Red Bull and has been since Flavio Briatore levered him in to the seat at the same time as selling the team Renault engines. At the time Briatore was both Renault’s F1 boss and Webber’s manager.