Earlier today, the FIA upheld the Renault F1 team’s protest against Racing Point. In the process, they slapped them with a fine and a 15-point deduction. The Silverstone outfit’s defence was that they used CAD drawings of the Mercedes W10 and modified a few parts for their own RP20. However, the McLaren team is not particularly convinced about that argument.
Speaking in the press conference, McLaren CEO Zak Brown gave his thoughts on the matter. He admitted that he and the other teams are still reviewing the 14-page document. However, he was concerned about the illegal parts that were on the car in Austria and are still on the car now.
Brown said, “Around this whole ‘copying’, they claimed they had copied the car via photography. It’s clear from reading the document that that’s BS and therefore you have to question anything else around that car.”
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What else did the McLaren CEO say?
According to him, this is just the beginning and he does not believe that it is beneficial for the sport. In light of this, Brown vowed to study the document carefully and understand the situation better. It is also worth noting that the 15-point loss only applies for the Constructor’s championship, while the driver’s championship is intact.
For now, the Renault F1 team will be satisfied that justice has been served and they can focus on this weekend’s race. Even McLaren will be eager to maintain its position in the championship and build on its good start. This weekend is a special one for Formula One as it is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
Admittedly, even though the Racing Point team got into trouble for copying, the brake duct was not deemed illegal. This decision likely annoyed several teams including McLaren. Sadly, they cannot do anything about it now and. the Racing Point team will be feeling vindicated with this small victory.
Source: Ben Hunt on Twitter