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Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says rivals should protest his team if they believe it has cooperated illegally with Racing Point, because “we’re happy to go to court”.
Racing Point has been found guilty of breaching F1’s sporting regulations and copying Mercedes’ rear brake ducts in a complicated case that centres on the transition of brake ducts from being (non-listed) parts Racing Point could simply buy from Mercedes to (listed) parts that teams must design themselves this year.
Mercedes supplied Racing Point with physical components and CAD data in 2018 and 2019, and the FIA found that Racing Point had developed the front brake ducts sufficiently from this information for them to be ‘grandfathered’ and considered the team’s own design in 2020 – but the rear brake ducts have been deemed a Mercedes design because Racing Point supposedly never used them.
Racing Point was docked 15 constructors’ championship points and fined €400,000 but Mercedes was not punished because it was only supplying the parts when it was legal to do so, and the stewards decided that a transfer of components on January 6 2020 was not worthy of sanction because the parts were not used and did not add to the information transferred already.
However, though this should be considered an isolated issue within unprecedented circumstances, other teams believe the FIA needs to investigate whether or not any other information or parts have been exchanged against the rules.
This is because there is a wider issue at play in which Racing Point’s overall car concept is a copy of Mercedes’ 2019 design, which the FIA has permitted because Racing Point claims this was achieved through extensive photography any other team could have commissioned.
“We have not been protested,” said Wolff. “We have done nothing wrong. I strongly believe that Racing Point has not done nothing wrong.
“I believe that if this goes to the International Court of Appeal, the lawyers and the barristers have a strong opinion that this is a case that has very, very solid pillars.
“Therefore, everybody’s in a good place about that.
“I’m speaking to Ola [Kallenius, Daimler boss] every single day and we’re speaking about good things and bad things.
“Obviously our reputation is very important, but it is intact. If someone thinks that we have done something wrong, they should protest and we’re happy to go to court.”
Five teams have appealed the stewards’ verdict – Racing Point, protesting its innocence, and four rival teams that want a harsher penalty.
On Sunday before the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Racing Point chairman and majority shareholder Lawrence Stroll made a rare public statement in which he took aim at Ferrari, Renault, McLaren and Williams, and also criticised the FIA.
Wolff is a business associate of Stroll as he has a personal investment in Aston Martin, which under Stroll’s newly-acquired control will rebrand Racing Point as its works team in F1 next year.
He said Stroll is not bluffing when he threatened to use everything he could to prove Racing Point was wrong to be found guilty by the FIA stewards.
“Lawrence is somebody that doesn’t take any prisoners and the legal opinion is clearly that this is a 99.9% case that he will win in the ICA and there was not one millimetre that the team – and also in our opinion – that Racing Point did wrong,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s a complex matter and some regulations were interpreted in a certain way – this famous grandfather rule came up, which I haven’t heard [of] before, and maybe it’s something you need to understand that this is the intention.
“Fair credit to the FIA, they have complex problems to solve and this is another one but Lawrence is going to go all in and if he is being dragged to the ICA, he will deploy all the resources he has and bring this to a positive end for him.”
The division between the teams on the Racing Point matter comes at a time where there is also dissent over the Concorde Agreement, the contract between the commercial rights holder and the teams.
Wolff has been very outspoken on this matter after pressure from Ferrari and McLaren in particular suggesting Mercedes was unfairly holding up the process.
On Sunday after the Silverstone race, Wolff appeared less agitated over the issue and was relaxed despite the apparent stand-off with an August 12 deadline looming.
“What FOM wants to achieve is that it’s not being dragged out any further,” said Wolff.
“And they’ve said that deadline and made it clear that, you know, we’ve got to get on and sign the Concorde agreement.
“I don’t think that if anybody fails to meet the 12th, or large corporations need more time, that this is going to be an issue.
“I completely understand where Chase comes from to get this done and sorted. It’s our sport and we should find solutions.
“This is a partnership, and they need the teams and we need a strong commercial rights holder.
“So, as I said I know why they put a line in the sand to get everybody acting. And I think they’ve been pretty successful with it.
“I wouldn’t pin it down to a day or two or a few weeks.”
