'All teams' signed to end car copying saga

(GMM) The ‘pink Mercedes’ saga is over, after the last teams vowing to take the matter to the international court of appeal dropped their cases at Monza.

Mattia Binotto said earlier last weekend that Ferrari would join Renault in withdrawing their appeal if clear rules were put in place for 2021 that ensure “it will not be possible to copy” other teams’ cars.

Then, on Sunday, Ferrari announced in a statement that the saga is over, as measures have been put in place for 2021 that will respect “both the letter and the spirit” of this “fundamental aspect of the DNA” of F1.

Even Racing Point – the team accused of colluding with Mercedes to ‘copy’ the world champions’ 2019 car – declared it was happy with the outcome.

“Now that the ambiguity around the regulations has been settled, we have decided to withdraw our appeal in the wider interests of the sport,” said the team that will become Aston Martin in 2021.

FIA president Jean Todt (above) is happy to have returned peace to the paddock.

“This story brought to light a lack of clarity in the regulations, which we have remedied for 2021,” the Frenchman said.

“The document was signed yesterday by all the teams,” Todt revealed.

He said he had been unconvinced by those who argued that blatant car copying was actually good for Formula 1 on the basis that it made the sport more competitive.

“In Formula 1 we have ten different cars, which are the result of rules that are the same for everyone,” said the Frenchman. “Whoever is better at interpreting them wins.

“From 2022, F1 will be less expensive thanks to the budget cap, and there will be more overtaking due to the new rules on aerodynamics. I expect it to improve the show.”