Racing Point loses 1st Renault protest – more to come

Renault has filed additional protests against other areas of the car they say is a carbon copy of last year's Mercedes
Renault has filed additional protests against other areas of the car they say is a carbon copy of last year's Mercedes

Racing Point has been reprimanded, docked constructors' championship points and fined 400,000 Euros after the FIA upheld Renault's protests against its brake ducts.

After the Styrian, Hungarian and British Grands Prix, Renault lodged a protest with the stewards, alleging that Racing Point’s brake ducts had been directly copied from the 2019 Mercedes.

In a summary handed down by the governing body on Friday morning, stewards concluded that Racing Point's brake duct design was in breach of F1 design rules, that the brake duct design was done by Mercedes, which meant Racing Point had broken the rules by using them.

It was decided that the team would lose 15 constructors' championship points – 7.5 for each car protested – in the Styrian Grand Prix as well as be fined. In addition, it was reprimanded for having run the ducts in the Hungarian and British Grands Prix.