F1 | Intellectual property protection comes first for Ferrari
After the case involving Racing Point and Mercedes, Ferrari expects clarity regarding the rules on F1 cars copying.
In recent weeks, Renault filed a protest against Racing Point for which the British team was believed to have copied the brake ducts design from the 2019 Mercedes on their 2020 car and this cost Racing Point a fine of € 400,000 and a 15-point penalty for the Constructors' Championship.
From the verdict of the FIA stewards it emerged that since the plans could not be dissipated, Racing Point can continue to use the rear brake ducts for the rest of the season.
While the British team is trying to overturn the penalty awarded to it, some teams believe that a tougher sanction is needed and this is the case of Ferrari and Renault.
After the FIA has confirmed that from now on all attempts to copy other cars will be banned from next season, Ferrari team principal - Mattia Binotto - wants clarity on how the intellectual property of the teams in the championship will be protected.
Binotto said: “The reason why we have confirmed our appeal, I think it’s because we need to seek clarification and transparency,
“I think the brake duct is a point, but I think that eventually the decision of the International Court of Appeal open up a more wider and broader discussion on the carbon copy car concept, which for us is important.
“It’s important as well for the future of the Formula 1, because at the end it’s about discussing intellectual property, and I think that intellectual property is a very important asset of a company.
“If someone would somehow copy almost an identical car of the previous year of a competitor, I think the regulations should somehow protect the competitor itself.
“That’s why I think at the moment it’s important simply to move forward and understand, for clarity, transparency and for the fairness of the competition and for the future of Formula 1 is important.” he concluded.
FIA secretary general for sport - Peter Bayer - and the FIA’s head of single-seaters - Nikolas Tombazis - said that any similarities they might encounter in car design will be banned from 2021.
Furthermore, Bayer, ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, sent all teams a notification regarding the rules that will be updated from next year to "expressly prevent teams from using photography or other reverse engineering techniques to copy large parts of other teams' cars" .
Finally, Ferrari emphasized the importance of protecting the intellectual property of each team and, therefore, not reporting all the details on the engine agreement with the FIA at the beginning of the year.
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