So, Ferrari were 'not exactly following the spirit of the rules' then?

[JRS]

Had the FIA said 'we conclude that Ferrari legally took advantage of a loophole in the regulations and absolutely did not cheat' then all would have been fine.

They didn't.

Agreed.

Had Ferrari said 'The FIA have concluded that we used a loophole and absolutely did not cheat, and by not releasing the information are protecting our intellectual rights to the technology used to achieve that'.

They didn't.

We don't know that they were allowed to do so under the agreement with the Federation.

It's clearly below board and not legal

Nothing about all this is 'clear'!

yet we have the usual suspects in here defending them and referring to the strongest voices (me included) as Merc fanboys.

...yeah, sure, okay. Nurse a sense of grievance over this, I'm sure that won't be deeply boring at all when it keeps getting brought up for the next five years

Well it looks like seven teams disagree with you.

Gosh, imagine that! Rival teams disagreeing with another one!

I. Am. Stunned.

As I already stated I believe that the FIA (as I have every right to an informative opinion) did discover an illegal setup regards fuel flow (which amounted to more than a use of a loophole) and are scared that Ferrari will walk.

I see Alpha Tauri signed it too, I am most definitely grabbing my popcorn!

Not sure I understand the popcorn reference WRT Alpha Tauri

Edit: I hope I'm wrong, losing Ferrari would be bad for many reasons.

Well, quite. After all, if Ferrari weren't there then who could y'all rail about week after week in-season?

 

[GravyMonster]

Alpha Tauri are in bed with Red Bull. I think you may be getting confused with Alfa Romeo, who are Ferrari's B team.

 

[mmj_uk]

I agree that the most damning part about this is the secrecy, it makes me suspect that the outcome is Ferrari cheated and rather than have to disqualify Ferrari from last season (which they would inevitably have to do) and deal with the fall out of a team cheating they've used it as leverage in some way. The whole thing stinks though really.

 

[GravyMonster]

Yep. McLaren alone have 100 million reasons to be incensed by the leniency shown.

 

[hominid]

Yep. McLaren alone have 100 million reasons to be incensed by the leniency shown.

Many times this!

You can bet that many more people in Ferrari knew about this system, unlike the few that knew about Ferrari info at McLaren, so the precident has been set. Yes the situation is not the same, but the problem is more systemic in Ferrari as more people knew and someone, *cough* Binotto, green-lighted this system!

The FIA painted themselves in a corner, they, multiple times, last year said that the Ferrari engine was legal, that what they were doing with regards to the engine, was fine. So now, after a proper investigation, they find out that Ferrari were cheating the fuel flow sensor - how are they going to get themselves out of this catch 22 situation. They were buggered either way by their comments last year, meanwhile Ferrari can sit back with the FIA taking the heat.

Now Ferrari have claimed that their engine won't be as powerful this year because they 'prioritised reliability': https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/148501/ferrari-2020-engine-not-as-strong-against-rivals - yeah, ok.. Total *********!

 

[ExRayTed]

Response from McLaren - https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/statement-mclaren-racing-2020/

Couldn't agree more, this stinks to high heaven of cover-up

Edit - just seen this was already mentioned earlier in the thread, I only saw it in my news feed today

 

[Jono8]

Yeh this seems really shady.

A confidential settlement was agreed?

Yeh, how about no..full disclosure please.

Not sure ***** off and potentially having a legal battle with every team that doesn't have a Ferrari engine is a smart move.

 

[MissChief]

I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the teams have a closed door meeting in Australia where they get told some details but are signed into an NDA so we never find out.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

It stinks. In summary, Ferrari cheated, we know they cheated but do not want to punish them for it, so we decided to close the investigation. McLaren are right to be ******. It is funny how ferrari were miraculously slow again after the technical directive having focussed more on ‘reliability’ and ‘cornering’. They should be stripped of their points.

 

[Journey]

Ferrari the VW of the F1 world?

Would be nice if the FIA and Ferrari just let everyone know exactly what was going on, and provide an open book with all of the data in it.

It just makes the FIA look complicit in trying to shield/protect a team with they should be outing them, and setting an example.

 

[Greboth]

The FIA painted themselves in a corner, they, multiple times, last year said that the Ferrari engine was legal, that what they were doing with regards to the engine, was fine. So now, after a proper investigation, they find out that Ferrari were cheating the fuel flow sensor - how are they going to get themselves out of this catch 22 situation. They were buggered either way by their comments last year, meanwhile Ferrari can sit back with the FIA taking the heat.

Good point - it didn't occur to me that this could be the reason for the settlement. I'd imagine it is hard to penalise a team for running an illegal car after a season has ended having at multiple during the season confirmed the car legal.

 

[gord]

What I find even more entertaining is that whatever unscrupulous methods they devised, they still didn't win the championship and they've actually pushed Mercedes to innovate further. It will be interesting to see how much detail is ever released. It's odd that you'd announce a "confidential" settlement, you're inciting scrutiny, unless they truly thought this would appease the teams and be the end of it..

 

[Entai]

FIA responds to teams over Ferrari 'settlement' objection

https://www.fia.com/news/fia-statement-following-communication-seven-formula-1-teams

The FIA has conducted detailed technical analysis on the Scuderia Ferrari Power Unit as it is entitled to do for any competitor in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

The extensive and thorough investigations undertaken during the 2019 season raised suspicions that the Scuderia Ferrari PU could be considered as not operating within the limits of the FIA regulations at all times. The Scuderia Ferrari firmly opposed the suspicions and reiterated that its PU always operated in compliance with the regulations.The FIA was not fully satisfied but decided that further action would not necessarily result in a conclusive case due to the complexity of the matter and the material impossibility to provide the unequivocal evidence of a breach.

To avoid the negative consequences that a long litigation would entail especially in light of the uncertainty of the outcome of such litigations and in the best interest of the Championship and of its stakeholders, the FIA, in compliance with Article 4 (ii) of its Judicial and Disciplinary Rules (JDR), decided to enter into an effective and dissuasive settlement agreement with Ferrari to terminate the proceedings.

This type of agreement is a legal tool recognised as an essential component of any disciplinary system and is used by many public authorities and other sport federations in the handling of disputes.

The confidentiality of the terms of the settlement agreement is provided for by Article 4 (vi) of the JDR.

The FIA will take all necessary action to protect the sport and its role and reputation as regulator of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

So basically the FIA could not prove one way or the other, if the Ferrari engine was legal or illegal.

The material impossibility to provide the unequivocal evidence of a breach.

 

[this_is_gav]

Sounds like it. Better to just nip it in the bud and add further measures to ensure it can't be exploited in the future. Not that that will satisfy their rivals of course.

After all this I would laugh so hard if Ferrari rolled out for Q3 in the first race (whenever that will be) and immediately topped the speed charts again.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

After all this I would laugh so hard if Ferrari rolled out for Q3 in the first race (whenever that will be) and immediately topped the speed charts again.

Heh, indeed. It seems unlikely though. From a curiosity perspective I would love to know what they were up to - their top speed was crazy. If they have lost this top speed and not improved their cornering ability then they are truly screwed this season.

 

[deuse]

This may go to the Arbitration court in Paris.

 

[SonicSW20]

I suspect the FIA know how Ferrari could have cheated, but cannot prove if Ferrari actually did cheat during a qualifying or race session.

 

[Greboth]

Well that doesn't really clarify much with respect to what Ferrari were actually doing - which we may never know. It does at least somewhat explain the outcome. Though it still leaves some questions such as why Ferrari settled? Also why didn't the FIA simple rule the car legal on the grounds that following a thorough investigation they couldn't provide sufficient evidence to rule the power unit illegal. Job done - roll on the 2020 season.

It is going to be interesting come Australia and the first official session if any teams protest Ferrari.

 

[Lakeland]

If we de-code their press release, they’re basically saying they chose not to investigate.

They better have a track record of doing the same thing in the same circumstances (with other teams), else it will still be construed as Ferrari international assistance.

 

[Flibster]

Or Ferrari have employed some former '95 Toyota Rally Team designers and techs.