Stewards rule Renault’s Racing Point protest “admissible”

The protest concerned Appendix 6 of the FIA sporting regulations, which relates to listed parts, and what can and cannot be shared between teams.

It relates specifically to the front and rear brake ducts used by the Racing Point RP20, which Renault clearly believes are more similar to those used on last year’s Mercedes W10 than the rules allow.

In stark contrast to the protest made last week by Red Bull Racing on the subject of the Mercedes DAS system, which was submitted on a Friday and thus did not affect qualifying or the race, Renault took action after today’s Styrian GP.

Perez and Stroll finished sixth and seventh, immediately ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo. Should the pink cars be excluded, Ricciardo and those who finished behind him would move up the order.

The stewards first had to decide that the protest was admissible – in other words that Renault had a case – before determining that the matter would require a more detailed investigation than could be carried out at the track on Sunday evening.

The stewards explained the case thus: “With regards to front and rear brake ducts used on cars 11 and 18, the Stewards summoned and heard from the team representatives of both teams and a representative of the FIA Technical Department. 

“The Stewards determined that the protest met all requirements specified in Article 13 of the FIA International Sporting Code and is, therefore, admissible.

“The FIA Technical Department representative was directed to seal and impound the relevant parts of cars 11 and 18 in preparation for conducting a detailed analysis of those pieces.

“The representative is further directed to provide a detailed report to the Stewards with the findings and to include an assessment that matches those findings against the alleged infringements outlined in the protest.

“The representative is authorised in the name of the Stewards to call upon such outside technical assistance, including representatives of the following teams:-Renault DP World F1 Team, BWT Racing Point F1 Team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team – in the conduct of their assessment.

“Furthermore, the Stewards ordered the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team to provide the front and rear brake air ducts of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ used by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in the 2019 season to the FIA Technical Department for examination.”

Regarding the date of the hearing they added: “When the likely submission date of the assessment can be determined, the FIA Technical Department representative will communicate that to the Chairman of the Stewards so that the next meeting to assess the claims can be scheduled.”