Reanult’s F1 system is deemed unlawful by the governing body. Romain Grosjean claims that the team has been using the said system since Belgian Grand Prix of 2015.
The Renault Formula 1 team found itself in trouble with FIA over breaking system.
Renault admitted that its system, pre-set brake balance adjustment, helps its drivers for which the team was restrained to participate in Japanese Grand Prix this year.
Cyril Abiteboul, team principal, disclosed that the device has been use earlier as well. He admitted that it has been used “for a while” before 2019 but won’t disclose since when.
Grosjean has been on the team, called Lotus, in 2015 before it switched back to its original name Renault. He then moved on to Haas F1 team.
He was asked about confirmation regarding if he had mentioned, on Thursday at Mexican Grand Prix, himself driving with the same system. He confirmed about the race where he was able to score a podium and said, “I may have. Yes.”
He was later asked about his opinion regarding the legitimacy of the braking system.
Grosjean said: “Well let’s say that I asked to replicate it later on and they wouldn’t do it.
“It was good though.”
Abiteboul said that Renault was confident of the system legality for which it didn’t consult the design with FIA for its approval. Because the system had been used for long on the car.
He also asserted that system on reduced the work load on the driver and does not help in performance enhancement.
However, Lance Stroll – Racing Point F1 Team driver – does not agree with Abiteboul and considers the system to be advantageous for the driver.
“They [the FIA] clearly gave them a penalty because it was an advantage,” he said.
“However, I don’t know the ins and outs of it, or how much they were doing it, or how much lap time it was, how much pace they were finding because of it.
“But I definitely know that they gave them a penalty for a reason.
“There is definitely a lot of workload for the driver, changing brake balance throughout a grand prix, and if you can avoid that, it’s definitely helpful.”
