F1: FIA Rejects Protest Against Mercedes Wing

Formula 1

F1: FIA Rejects Protest Against Mercedes Wing

Lotus F1 protested the DRS-operated “F-Duct” system used by Mercedes in the first two races...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted April 12, 2012 Shanghai (CHN)

Mercedes, like the rest of Formula One, is preparing for a new engine package in 2014. (Photo: AFP)

The FIA stewards at the Chinese GP have rejected the protest by Lotus F1 against the Mercedes DRS/F-Duct system.

The decision means in effect that the legality of the device is not in question as far as the FIA is concerned and rivals are faced with the prospect of copying it, if they can.

The problem for those teams is that they will have to find a way to connect the airflow between the front and rear wings via a system of pipes and ducts, something that was built into the Mercedes W03 when it was designed.

Lotus had challenged the Mercedes on the basis that it was an aerodynamic device operated by the driver, even if the F-Duct effect was secondary to the permissible use of the DRS wing.

In essence, the FIA decreed that it was not operated by driver movement, but by the movement of the DRS, which is legal.

One of the principal arguments of the FIA was that “there are many different parts of bodywork fitted to cars from a variety of teams, which have been designed specifically to take advantage of the change in airflow caused by the activation of the DRS.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.