Breaking news
Formula 1
Horner: Mercedes could be guilty in Racing Point case
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says that Mercedes could be a guilty party in the Racing Point brake duct case, which is set to go to the International Court of Appeal.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Aug 12, 2020, 9:22 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Racing Point was fined €400,000 and docked 15 world championship points in a decision issued by the FIA stewards on Friday, but is allowed to use the contentious ducts for the rest of the 2020 season. However the team will receive reprimands every time it races with the ducts, as was the case after the 70th Anniversary GP.
There was no sanction against Mercedes, or suggestion that the Brackley-based team had broken any rules.
The verdict prompted notices of intention to appeal from Renault, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams, while Racing Point has submitted one in an attempt to clear its name.
Both Renault and Ferrari have since announced their intention to press ahead with the appeal, while McLaren and Williams have opted out of active involvement in the case.
Red Bull decided not to become formally involved in the case by appealing, but the team is keeping a close watch on proceedings, not least because of its relationship with sister team AlphaTauri and the potential impact on the sharing of technology.
Horner also believes that having supplied CAD information and brake ducts to Racing Point, Mercedes could be a guilty party.
“Well, it's an interesting one,” said Horner. “I think the biggest thing for us is that we just want absolute clarity as to what is and what isn't permissible moving forwards.
“Obviously Red Bull are in the unique position that they own 100% of two Grand Prix teams. So we've always complied stringently with the regulations since the constructor rules within the last Concorde were made very, very clear.
“So for us it's that there is a bigger picture to this, it's not just about brake ducts, it's about what is philosophically allowed, and what isn't.
“Regarding Mercedes, I'm sure those questions will get asked, because if the team in question are guilty of receiving, surely the team that has provided has also been in breach of those regulations? That's something for the FIA.”
Read Also:
- No "bad blood" between McLaren and Mercedes over Racing Point
- The tech fallout from the Racing Point F1 verdict
- Why the FIA's Racing Point verdict pleases nobody
- Williams has "very clear" position on Racing Point appeal
Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko stressed that while his two teams didn’t get involved in the appeal process, they want to see a harsher sanction.
“We are not part of it because there are enough teams who have lodged their intention to appeal,” he told Sky Germany. "And Renault the protest before.
"But this result is not satisfactory for us either, because it does not bring the clarification we had hoped for. I hope that this will happen in the appeal process.
“As a lawyer, it is very difficult to understand that you get a penalty for the same offence and use the same parts again in the three subsequent races, and there is only a reprimand.
“How long can one reprimand? I think that this is not very balanced and not very well thought through. That is why it is important that it goes into appeal.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article McLaren withdraws Racing Point F1 appeal
Next article Sochi targeting 30,000 spectators for Russian Grand Prix
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Red Bull Racing
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
8 h
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Red Bull identifies two "key focus" areas after Max Verstappen's promising start in Austin
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
10 h
Red Bull identifies two "key focus" areas after Max Verstappen's promising start in Austin
Latest news
NASCAR Cup Talladega starting lineup: Chase Briscoe beats Austin Hill for pole
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
2 min
NASCAR Cup Talladega starting lineup: Chase Briscoe beats Austin Hill for pole
F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
8 min
F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3
NASCAR plans to modify Phoenix dogleg to lessen driver loads
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
24 min
NASCAR plans to modify Phoenix dogleg to lessen driver loads
Lamborghini | Barcelona selected to host the 2027 Super Trofeo World Finals
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini | Barcelona selected to host the 2027 Super Trofeo World Finals
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe