Racing Point is illegal: All in a row about the penalty, fines and the consequence

The penalty for Racing Point

The easiest thing to start with is the punishment. The protest that was about Racing Point's brakes has finished. That means Renault was right and Racing Point's brakes weren't designed by themselves. Pictures were used to make it, but also drawings of Mercedes.

For this, Racing Point will be fined 400,000 euros (200,000 per car) and has to hand in 15 points (7.5 points per car) for the constructors' championship. However, this does not concern the technical regulations. The brakes comply with the rules, but the fact that illegally obtained data has been used for the design causes the problem.

However, the FIA is convinced that Racing Point eventually came to the same design with the photos. Therefore, RP will only receive a fine and a penalty for taking a shortcut to the final goal. The car itself is therefore not illegal. However, the use of the car results in reprimands and fines in the event of subsequent protests.

Backside is illegal

But then we're not there yet, because there was also a difference between the brakes. In 2019 the so-called 'brake ducts' could still be bought, but in 2020 they have to be made themselves. Here's another difference for Racing Point. Where the brakes at the front were already used in 2019, the brakes at the back are brand new.

Where Racing Point gets away with the fact that it took over the front brakes from Mercedes, because it was still allowed to do so in 2019, this is not the case for the rear brakes. So the penalty and fine are because for those rear brakes Mercedes-designs have only been used in 2020 and that is forbidden.

There are lots of rules flying by, but hopefully, this will help you better understand what the situation is at Racing Point. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them and we will look for the answer.