GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Monty on March 05, 2020, 08:18:01 AM
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Toto Wolff brought the teams together to demand an explanation from the FIA over the Ferrari settlement while Red Bull’s Helmut Marko wants “$24 million” in compensation.
It seems typical that all of the non-Ferrari teams get together to challenge the ethics of FIA's ludicrous 'hush' settlement with Ferrari but Marko wades in with a compensation claim!
I think it is pretty obvious that Ferrari had found a 'cheat' that did not comply with the spirit of the rules but didn't actually break the regs (I understand that their fuel system could collect fuel upstream of the flow regulator and then dispense it when they needed extra power). As far as I am concerned it was clever but, when understood by the FIA, immediately banned. The 'scandal' is how the FIA handled the situation afterwards. They are walking right back into the 'Ferrari International Assistance' tag all over again!
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Is Red Bull going to want compensation
from Mercedes over their moving steering
wheel too. Get over it.
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I reckon this is more about the FIA not being able to say quite how Ferrari have been managing get extra Fuel/Oil to burn without it registering on the metering system.
They know Ferrari have been up to something but any proof of wrongdoing has been elusive, they can't penalise them without being able to explain just what the wrongdoing is - hence the need to offer a confidential truce.
Basically they've agreed to take no action so long as Ferrari came clean about how they manage to do it. Now they understand how it's done they can ensure no one else is doing it, or can do it.
Really there's a reason on both sides to keep it quiet - Ferrari don't want to admit to any transgression and the FIA wants to prevent anyone else doing anything similar.
Obviously Ferrari have managed to keep this technical fix/code/innovation secret up to now - FIA wants to make sure it stays that way.
The only way I can see to defuse the row, now brewing with all non Ferrari power teams, is for the FIA to admit that for once Ferrari boffins out foxed them, embarrassing as this may be.
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I read somewhere that Toto’s push on this is political and that he is planning on ousting Todt from the helm of the FIA and run for the the presidency himself (is Merc about to pull out of F1?).
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I read somewhere that Toto’s push on this is political and that he is planning on ousting Todt from the helm of the FIA and run for the the presidency himself (is Merc about to pull out of F1?).
Can't see it myself as FIA presidency is an unpaid position and you can't have any other links to team ownerships or drivers. Toto has far too many irons in the fire to give up all his income streams from motorsport.
I'm pretty sure if Merc want to pull out of running the team they'll hand it to Toto for a notional sum to reduce the close down & redundancy costs, similar to Honda handing the keys of the factory to Brawn.
Merc will be staying as power unit suppliers in any event as they have contracts with Racing point, Williams and a deal inked last year to supply Macca from 2021. I can't see them paying off all them as well.