Racing Point has confirmed that it has withdrawn its appeal against its sanction for “copying” Mercedes’ brake ducts.
Racing Point was hit with a €400,000 fine and docked 15 Constructors’ Championship points after the FIA came to the conclusion that the brake duct design on the RP20 was copied from last year’s championship-winning Mercedes W10.
The issue was originally raised by Renault which protested Racing Point’s car in Styria, Hungary and Britain, which led to the FIA’s investigation and subsequent penalty.
Five teams then notified their intention to appeal the verdict with three – Ferrari, Renault and Racing Point itself – pushing ahead with the official appeal process.
Renault has since withdrawn its appeal and has now been followed by Racing Point, which explained that it was happy that clarification over future rules surrounding listed and non-listed parts.
“We welcome the resolution the teams have agreed, and we’re pleased the FIA has provided much-needed clarification of the rules on listed and non-listed parts.
“The stewards and all parties involved in the appeals process recognise that there was a lack of clarity in the regulations and that we did not deliberately break them.
“Now that the ambiguity around the regulations has been settled, we have decided to withdraw our appeal in the wider interests of the sport.
“This issue has been a distraction for us and the other teams, but now we and everyone else can get back to focusing solely on what we’re all here to do: racing hard and providing excitement and entertainment for the millions of F1 fans around the world.”
Ferrari has yet to confirm whether it too will drop its appeal, although team principal Mattia Binotto recently stated that the team was seeking further clarification over the rules.
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