The FIA ​​responds to the teams' revolt over the Ferrari engine

The FIA ​​was quick to react to the emerging revolt. A little over 24 hours ago, 7 teams in the field – Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Renault, AlphaTauri, Racing Point, and Williams – carried out a real collective barrage to denounce the secret and private agreement made between the federal authority and Ferrari about the operation of the Italian powertrain last year. 

Announced on the sly last Friday, on the evening of the 2020 winter tests, the deal was received very coldly by all the teams who do not use a Ferrari engine and felt cheated by the lack of transparency. 

Before coordinating their response, several high-ranking sources informed us of the “ stupor ", of the " anger , Of " the landing » or “ shock » that their team had felt when the first press release was dropped like a hair in the soup.  

The FIA ​​responded to them this Thursday through a more detailed communication which you will find below in full. 

« After the announcements made by 7 stables of Formula 1 yesterday, the FIA ​​would like to provide the following clarifications: 

The FIA ​​has carried out a detailed technical investigation into Scuderia Ferrari's powerplant, as it has the right to do with any competitor in the F1 World Championship. This in-depth analysis carried out during the 2019 season raised doubts and suggested that the Ferrari propulsion system could be considered not to operate within the framework defined by the FIA ​​regulations at all times. Ferrari strongly opposed these suspicions and reiterated that its engine always operated within the rules. The FIA ​​was not completely satisfied but decided that any additional action would not result in a conclusive result given the complexity of the subject and the material impossibility of providing explicit evidence of a breach of the regulations. 

To avoid the negative consequences that a long trial would entail given the uncertainty of the verdict, and in the best interest of the championship and its shareholders, the FIA, under Article 4 (ii) of its Disciplinary Regulations and Jurisdictional, decided to conclude a dissuasive and effective agreement with Ferrari to close the proceedings. 

This type of agreement is a legal tool recognized as an essential element of any disciplinary system; it is often used by many public authorities and other sports federations in their dispute management. 

The confidentiality of the terms of the agreement is guaranteed by Article 4 (vi) of the Disciplinary and Judicial Regulations. 

The FIA ​​will take all necessary measures to protect the sport, its role, and its reputation as the regulatory body of the Formula 1 World Championship ». 

We will remember that last year there were persistent doubts surrounding the legality of the Ferrari engine, particularly in the second half of the season. Intrigued by the GPS traces and the phenomenal power released by the Italian propeller, in qualifying and in a straight line, some suspected the Italian team of circumventing the flow meter which controls compliance with the fuel flow limit, set at 100 kg per hour. 

By skillfully asking for clarification on this sensitive feature of V6 turbo hybrids, Red Bull pushed the FIA ​​to legislate through the sending of a series of technical directives, the first of which fell just before the United States Grand Prix at the end of October. Chance or coincidence, the series of 6 pole positions in a row on which Ferrari was launched from Belgium ended in Austin. 

The next day, the SF90s of Sebastian Vettel et Charles Leclerc were nowhere in racing pace. A situation which had led the sniper Max Verstappen to bring out the heavy artillery by asserting that he was “ harder to win when you don't cheat ". Atmosphere. 

New calls to order were sent before the Brazilian meeting two weeks later, and notably approved the addition of a second flow meter from 2020. Although no official complaint was filed by Maranello's rivals, the FIA decided to inspect the fuel system of 3 cars after the Interlagos round: a Red Bull, a Ferrari, and a Haas which uses the same Italian propellant as the Maranello team. A long and careful investigation then followed, which led to the current explosive situation.