FIA explains why Racing Point doesn't have to use tokens for Mercedes parts

Holes in the rules

The regulations have been drawn up and they have to be watertight, but the teams are always creative to find holes in them from which they can benefit. In addition, Racing Point is a team that can be called a unique case because they can modify the Mercedes parts without having to use a token. In other words, their playing field is wider.

Racing Point will not have to spend a token if they want to modify the gearbox or the suspension where Ferrari customers like Haas and Alfa Romeo have to. That sounds like double standards, but according to the FIA technical man, Nikolas Tombazis, it is just one of those things.

Double standard

He explains at Auto, Motor und Sport: "There are double standards here and there and the arguments are not always correct. Some teams, such as Haas, use parts from the same year's Ferrari. Racing Point buys parts from last year's car," Haas drives with potentially better material because it is newer. The fact that the Ferrari is going so badly now is a risk in this case.

"We introduced the homologation for cost reasons. What Mercedes and Racing Point are doing saves both parties money, because it uses material from the Mercedes warehouse and the customer doesn't have to invest in the development of these parts. Racing Point does not use these parts to make the car faster."

"You have to look at it this way when a team always uses the last car (parts) of the manufacturer. That's why we don't take away any tokens at Racing Point for this." In other words, if Racing Point had used parts from Mercedes from 2020, they would have had to use the tokens. By using this construction, they bypass the system and that's allowed.