Court says Dampers are Illegal

Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
Mikey_s
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Joined: 21 Dec 2005, 11:06

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Ginsu,

I try to be balanced in the views I express, although there is no such thing as a truly unbiased perspective. A couple of responses to your post;

Ferrari wheel rims... read my post - I hate them and I would hate to see the championship decided (one way or the other) by them being protested/banned and a black cloud hanging over whomever wins bcause of it. However, in my day to day job (the one I am paid to do) I must deal with regulators and interpret complex rules which dictate our ability to do business. In my experience, where there are shades of grey, it is essential to seek clarification on how the regulator will interpret the rule (irrespective of how I would interpret the rule). This, I believe, is where Ferrari excel and where I believe Renault have been lacking. They can gripe about how they didn't seek clarification on the TMD because they were in no doubt about the rulebook in this area. It really matters little what their interpretation of the rules is because the regulator has the last word...

I still hate the wheel rims, but Ferrari HAS sought clarification from the FIA and (like it or not) they have convinced the regulator that it is part of the brake duct. Now, we can express our opinion on whether we agree, but it really matters little because FIA has agreed that they are part of the brakes - now if Renault launch a protest and it is upheld Ferrari will have to change the rims, but until then the nasty pieces of CF will stay because the FIA has approved them. (- and the TMD is gone because the FIA said it was illegal, irrespective of what the stewards or Renault thought)

The main point I wanted to make is that, if you are going to participate in this high stakes sport, it is ESSENTIAL to understand how the rules are enforced and if there is ANY doubt about a piece of technology seek clarification.

In another thread I opined that the increasingly stringent rule book stifles innovation and, in my view, damages the sport. In the good old days the small teams could innovate their way to a few race wins/placements by outsmarting the big guns... nowadays the only way to win is to spend huge sums of money to develop a new gadget which is slightly better than the gadget everyone else has - the small guys have no chance to do that, and the sport I love is the worse for it.
Mike

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