Andreas Seidl, McLaren Formula 1 Chief, is hopeful for regulations to be more strict. It will help in limiting the copying of cars by other teams.
Reanult has officially raised the flag against Racing Point RP20 car legality. FIA is assessing RP20 design, which is based on Mercedes W10. Lewis Hamilton won his sixth world championship title last year with W10.
Racing Point conceded to the fact of using Mercedes design. The team comes up with the similar design using the pictures. However, RP is confident over its legality and is not troubled by Renault’s protest.
Seidl agreed with the official position of Racing Point. But, he thinks, the protest is important to the stop the F1 from becoming a “copying championship”.
He also conceded to that fact that duplication exists in F1 to some degree. He said F1 regulation allows more than what is being claimed by Racing Point.
“There’s obviously copying [which] is not just copying,” Seidl said.
“There’s copying which has always been around in Formula 1, and which is part of Formula 1.
“We have tried to analyse what competitors are doing by pictures that are publicly available, pictures you can take in the pit lane or on-track. I think no-one has any problem with copying parts or cars from these pictures.
“What is more important is to simply clarify and maybe also change the regulations on what can be done in terms of copying beyond this copying, where you only use publicly-available information.
“There’s room in the regulations at the moment that you can do actually a lot more, that you can do co-operations on wind tunnel technology, on the way you use the wind tunnel, on the way how you map your car in the wind tunnel.
“Also in the way how you get access to pictures of cars, and so on.
“I think that’s something that needs to be clarified, that we have a clear direction on what Formula 1 wants to allow there in the future.”
Renault raised the concerned against brake ducts of RP20. Last year, Mercedes facilitated that part. But they are no longer listed for 2020.
Moreover, Renault asserted that the protest shall not be seen just about brake ducts. Rather, the protest shall define F1 future team collaborations.
McLaren is also eager to dig an answer about it.
“It’s not necessarily about doing something legal or illegal,” Seidl said.
“As I said many times, there is room in the regulations to do a lot more than just take pictures in the pit lane.
“That’s why we think it’s important to have these clarifications now.”
