ams No solution in the rim dispute
10.11.2018
M ercedes brought this construction to the Belgian GP for the first time Begin. Ferrari raised concerns ahead of the US GP. Because the spacers with the holes rotate, they are in the broadest sense a movable aerodynamic aid and therefore not protest-proof. Mercedes asked the FIA's Technical Delegate for his opinion in Austin and got the green light. Nevertheless, the world champion kept his hands off it. For fear that the stewards might take a different opinion in a protest.
Ferrari considers FIA interpretation to be wrong
In Mexico, Mercedes made a second attempt and asked the stewards directly how they would decide in an emergency. The four commissioners shared the opinion of FIA technical director Nikolas Tombazis. He classified the purpose of the construction primarily as cooling. However, this only applies to the solution that Mercedes had presented. Every modification, for example an enlargement of the holes, must be assessed separately. The stewards could only give the green light for Mexico. In Brazil, the opinion of the referees there would apply, and theoretically it could have turned out differently.
Thus, a mission in Mexico would have been safe. Nevertheless, Mercedes waived. Fearing Ferrari might protest. Then Lewis Hamilton's world title might have been the shadow of a lawsuit. Ferrari could have gone to the FIA Court of Appeal if the protest was rejected. From Mercedes' point of view, the holes in the spacers were not decisive for the war. The tire problems of the Silver Arrows in Mexico had nothing to do with overheating, but rather the opposite. The tires were too cold.
Ferrari chief technology officer Mattia Binotto informed the FIA in Mexico that he considered the decision of the stewards in Mexico to be wrong. This means that the matter is still considered to have not been resolved. Another request from Mercedes to the stewards in Sao Paulo would have been rejected. “It would just be a repetition of what we've seen in Mexico,” said FIA race director Charlie Whiting. The commissioners would probably have decided like their colleagues from Mexico and Ferrari would still not have been satisfied. Mercedes therefore does not take any risks. As in the USA and Mexico, the race is closed with one another. The dispute can only be resolved if the FIA denies itItem anchored in the regulations.
