CHT wrote:Diesel wrote:I think that's completely missing the point. The engine maps are being banned because there is reason to believe they are illegal. Trying to find a loophole in the rules banning them is almost certain to land any team a real penalty.
There is actually no loop hole in the rules on this one. Is is simply an innovation which FIA decide to ban it. Many people believe that the motivation behind FIA introducing the ban so late into the season is simply to stop RBR from running away with the championship.
No innovation I'm afraid, the system is believed to be illegal and rather go down the messy route of protests etc. the FIA has decided to just tighten the regulations. The alternative was the Cosworth powered teams protest the legality of the engine maps, and there's a strong case. I don't think anyone wants to see the championship result altered.
“We are on the verge of issuing a note to the teams to give them a list of things that they can change when they connect their computers, but that will be a very limited list.
“A team can't have a base map in the ECU that is only good for a few laps. If you want to use it, you have to use it for the whole race.
“There isn't anything to prevent them from exploiting the use of their exhaust gasses – providing those exhaust gasses are there for the genuine reason of engine combustion.”
When asked if all teams will be equally affected by the changes, Whiting replied:
“It is not for us to say whether or not one team will be penalised more than another. If depends how extreme they're going. I've certainly seen evidence of maps from a number of teams that are extreme.”
“Our argument is that there is a strong case to suggest they are illegal,” Whiting continued. “Ultimately, the stewards will decide.”
It continues to suprise me how people label this as innovation. Blowing the diffuser with exhaust gas to make it more efficient is innovative yes, but it's not being banned. Turning the engine in to a leaf blower when it's not sending power to the wheels, that's not innovative.
This is a similar situation to when flexing rear wings appeared. The FIA introduce slot gap separators mid season to prevent such flex. They could have chosen to investigate every team and retroactively apply penalties for those they deemed illegal.