Mercedes “happy to go to court” over F1 brake duct row

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says his team would be “happy to go to court” to prove its innocence in the Racing Point brake duct copying saga.

Racing Point were docked 15 constructors’ championship points and handed a €400,000 fine after the FIA stewards ruled the team had breached F1’s design regulations regarding its rear brake ducts for the 2020 season.

The Silverstone-based outfit was found to have illegally copied Mercedes’ brake ducts design, but is permitted to continue using the part for the remainder of the season, causing much anger among its rivals.

Racing Point is set to appeal the ruling in a bid to clear its name, while Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams have also lodged appeals on the grounds that they believe a harsher penalty should be dished out.

Rivals are also concerned about Mercedes’ involvement in the case and whether the German manufacturer has fully complied with the regulations.

Wolff said he has “zero worries” about his side being involved in any wrongdoing in the controversial row and has challenged rivals to protest if they believe Mercedes has broken the rules.

"We have not been protested, we have done nothing wrong,” Wolff said after Sunday’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone. “I strongly believe that Racing Point has done nothing wrong.

“I believe that if this goes to the International Court of Appeal, the lawyers and the barristers have a strong opinion that this is a case that has very, very solid pillars, and therefore everybody’s in a good place about that.

“I’m speaking to Ola [Kallenius, Mercedes’ chairman] every single day, we’re speaking about good things and bad things. Obviously our reputation is very important, but it is intact. 

“If someone thinks that we have done something wrong, they should protest, and we’re happy to go to court.”

Mercedes’ rivals have raised suspicion after the reigning world champion squad continued to supply Racing Point with data and key parts in January this year.

This came just six days after brake ducts moved from being non-listed to listed parts, meaning teams are required to design their own components.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “I’m sure those questions will get asked because of the team in question are guilty of receiving, surely the team that has provided has been also in breach of those regulations. But that is something for the FIA to deal with.

“The biggest thing for us is we want absolute clarity on what is and what isn’t permissible moving forward.

“Obviously Red Bull is in the unique position that they own 100% of two grand prix teams. We’ve always complied stringently with the regulations since the constructor rules in the last Concorde were made clear.

“For us there’s a bigger picture to this, it’s not just about brake ducts, it’s about what is philosophically allowed and what isn’t’.”