Renault Steering Wheel/ECU impounded after protest!

FIA confiscates steering wheels

For Renault, the Japan race could still have a bad aftermath. Racing Point made an official protest at the FIA ​​because the French factory team allegedly installed a prohibited automatic brake balance adjustment.

In the paddock the first rumors about irregularities with the Renault cars had already come up right after the end of the race. At 18:25 local time, the FIA ​​finally sent the document with explosive content: Racing Point had officially protested against the cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo.



The accusation was that the competition has built an automatic system that regulates the brake balance while driving, depending on the position on the track. Normally, the pilots must adjust the braking force on the steering wheel front or rear axle depending on the type of curve or the grip level of the tires.



Racing point protest planned for a long time

Racing Point substantiated his allegations with a 12-page dossier in which the team from Silverstone had evidently gathered evidence in the run-up to the Japan race. Because of the good preparation, the FIA ​​officially accepted the protest for investigation. However, due to the complexity of the topic in the evening, no judgment could be made directly.



The rating of the race is therefore still subject to change. Renault announced in an official statement already to defend itself rigorously against the allegations. The FIA ​​gave its own engineering department until Wednesday time to closely examine the technology of the Renault system.



For this reason, the affected elements were sealed and confiscated by the World Association. Specifically, it was the electronic control unit (ECU) installed as a standard part in all cars. The steering wheels of Hülkenberg and Ricciardo were also ensured by the referees for closer examination.



Judgment with explosive force

The FIA ​​commissioners expect the in-house technicians to provide a detailed report on the hardware, software, and stored data to ultimately decide if the evidence matches the allegations of the Racing Point indictment. It may be that representatives of the two teams are also involved in the analysis.



For Renault, the worst case scenario could end up with a disqualification and the deduction of nine points for Ricciardo's sixth place and Hülkenberg's tenth place. Worse than the lost counter but would probably damage the image of the team. One would hardly imagine what happens when the factory team, who wants to promote Formula 1 positive advertising for its products, is convicted of fraud.



Where Racing Point had the explosive information on questionable Renault technology is not known. From the team itself, we hear that the competition came after the intensive study of onboard recordings on the clutter. In the paddock, however, one also tells the story that a defector acted as a whistleblower.