FIA rule Mass Dampers Illegal

[Woody]

FIA said:

DECISION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF APPEAL
23.08.2006

The FIA International Court of Appeal met in Paris on Tuesday, August 22, 2006, to examine the appeal made by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile against Decision No. 8 handed down by the Stewards of the Meeting on July 28, 2006, concerning the T car of competitor Mild Seven Renault F1 on the occasion of the Grand Prix of Germany and counting towards the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Having heard the explanations of both parties and having examined the various documents and other evidence, the Court quashed decision No. 8 of the Stewards of the Meeting and ruled that use of the device known as a Tuned Mass Damper is an infringement of Article 3.15 of the Formula One Technical Regulations.

The International Court of Appeal was presided over by Mr Philippe ROBERTI de WINGHE (Belgium), elected President, Mr Pierre TOURIGNY (Canada), Mr John CASSIDY (United States) and Mr Anthony SCRIVENER (Great Britain).

The full text of the International Court of Appeal’s decision is available, on request, from the secretariat of the FIA International Court of Appeal in Paris.

So this might spice the last few rounds up as Renault have seemed to be on the back foot since they stopped using them.

But why it wasn't illegal when Renault ran it for most of last year is still a mystery!!!

Chris

[jamieboy]

Woody said:

So this might spice the last few rounds up as Renault have seemed to be on the back foot since they stopped using them.

But why it wasn't illegal when Renault ran it for most of last year is still a mystery!!!

I guess it might make a difference, but Renault weren't great in France or USA and they were still using the system then, and they seemed to go OK in Hungary without them as well. I'd say their form relative to the others has more to do with general car and tyre development than this one thing.

Does seem an odd decision, though.

Edited by jamieboy on Wednesday 23 August 17:38

[barroom_spert]

Woody said:

So this might spice the last few rounds up as Renault have seemed to be on the back foot since they stopped using them.

But why it wasn't illegal when Renault ran it for most of last year is still a mystery!!!

Chris

Pat Symonds says they ran the car at only at the end of 2005, not for most of the year.

[rubystone]

Inevitable and totally outrageous decision. Why should any team trust Tonyt Scott Andrews now?...They'll protest every one of his decisions by routine, given the precedent the governing body has now set. I expect him to tender his resignation very soon.

Symonds has said that the mass damper is simply one component in a car that has been optimised as a whole. By removing just one of those components, the car is thus more severely affected than one which is not as homgenic as the Renault is. 0.3 seconds is a chunk of time to lose by anyone's standards (excepting Super Aguri of course...)