The FIA has declared Red Bull’s RB8 floor to be illegal following complaints from three teams in Monaco last weekend.
The decision means Red Bull will be forced to change its car prior to the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend.
The complaint surrounds the hole ahead of the rear-wheels which is fully enclosed, rather than open like it is on the Ferrari thanks to a small but vital slit which leads from the hole to edge of the floor.
A note issued to the teams on Friday evening confirmed the governing body disagreed with Red Bull’s interpretation of the regulations and ruled in favour of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes – the three teams which instigated the investigation.
RB8 Up-close: The hole ahead of the rear-wheels has been declared illegal because it is completely enclosed. Other teams have similar openings, but they extend to the edge of floor meaning it is considered a slit, not a hole and is therefore not enclosed.
“Following on from a number of discussions in Monaco, during which it became clear that certain misunderstandings existed, we feel it would be helpful to make our position clear with respect to the presence of a fully enclosed hole in any surface lying on the step plane,” the technical directive (TD/013-12) reads.
“It has been argued that, as it is not explicitly stated that fully enclosed holes cannot be located in a surface lying on the step plane rearward of a line 450mm forward from the rear face of the cockpit template, then they may be located in such areas.
“We disagree with this view and consider it implicit that fully enclosed holes may not be located there. If they were permitted the opening part of the second paragraph of Article 3.12.5 (which was added to the regulations at the same time as Articles 3.12.9 and 3.12.10 for 2011) would be superfluous).”
The ruling won’t have an effect on Red Bull’s results which are set in stone, but the team will be forced to amend the design of their floor before the next race.
