F1Krof wrote: ↑17 Jul 2020, 15:41
MtthsMlw wrote: ↑17 Jul 2020, 15:32
Was this the first time Renault publicly said that they believe RP has received drawings and parts?
Spicy.
Which is true. I heard Crofty saying that they are claiming they're "based" on last year's W10, which back then Break Drums were listed parts and allowed to be sold. Spicy indeed.
They were sold, but that is the critical thing. Renault is betting that RacingPoint cut open a W10 brake duct from last year and copied it for this year. This is in my opinion close to being illegal. The rule was implemented so that teams need to design their own brake ducts, copying a part you bought last year is not designing. Another important aspect is that it is very different thing to take publicly available photos and then reverse engineer the car and whole another is if you got a part and copied it.
Imagine if Racing Point cut open a Mercedes engine and copied it and came in next year Aston Martin engined. This kind of situation would be obviously illegal and there would be no doubt. Just because this was a smaller part does not change the situation. Only problem here is that Mercedes should be aggrieved party and they seem to be happy to ignore it.