Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer says the FIA were happy that their RP20 is all their own design following a factory visit in March.
Szafnauer explained that after rumours circulated the paddock during pre-season testing that a rival would likely protest their car, due to its similarity to last years Mercedes W10, they invited the FIA to their factory to reassure them it was entirely their own design.
It comes after Renault protested the front brake duct design after last weekend’s Styrian Grand Prix, claiming it was an identical copy of the W10 which Renault doesn’t believe can be done from photos alone, suggesting there must have been some transfer of data, which is against the regulations.
“We invited the FIA to our factory in March following the pre-season tests in Barcelona after we heard rumours of potential protests,” said Szafnauer in Hungary.
“We invited the FIA to come and observe our processes and to interview our designers and aerodynamicists to understand how we developed this car, because it is significantly different to what we’ve done in the past.
“The FIA were happy that all the designs belonged to us, that they are all ours and that we developed the car independently of anyone else.
“We have always been independent and developed our own components and have only added to that capability.
“When I first arrived at the team, there were 280 people doing that job. Now it’s 480 – so we’ve only bolstered our in-house capability.”
Szafnauer says Racing Point must now convince the stewards, like they did the FIA, that their car is 100 per cent legal.
“It’s now a case of explaining what we have already explained to the FIA to the stewards as we resolve this process.
“We have to put together the evidence to show that our car is completely legal and that’s exactly what we’re working on now.
“We are confident that we will win this protest and believe in the FIA’s processes.”
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