The FIA World Motorsport Council has expressed “full support” to the FIA President for the FIA’s agreement with the team on the 2019 Ferrari Power Unit.
In 2019, the FIA has been investigating, raising concerns that Ferrari power units may have violated rules that set fuel flow restrictions. However, without confirmation that the infringement had been committed, a statement on February 28 announced that it had reached an agreement with the team and would not disclose the details of the agreement.
Seven teams, with the exception of Ferrari and its affiliates, responded, issued a joint statement, criticized the lack of transparency in the FIA’s actions, demanded disclosure of information and indicated they may take legal action.
The FIA again issued a comment on this: they were not convinced that Ferrari’s power unit operating method was completely legal, but it was difficult to prove fraud. So considering the benefits of F1 as a whole, they concluded the case by signing a confidentiality agreement as permitted by regulation.
At a meeting of the World Motorsports Council on March 6, the Council stated that it fully supported the FIA’s actions on the agreement with Ferrari.
“The Council has unanimously endorsed the FIA President and the FIA Technical Division on the overall management of the matter,” the statement said. “We also strongly disagree with all comments that undermine the reputation and image of the FIA and Formula One World Championships,” according to the statement.
Helmut Marco, Red Bull motorsports consultant said, “The FIA’s actions are really embarrassing.”
The comment by Ferrari about their own thoughts on a DAS system, but deciding not to go ahead with it on legality grounds is nonsense. F1 Teams are always looking to get one up on their competitors. So they run innovations until there is challenge, and if its upheld they say sorry and remove it. Ferrari have been caught out and are now trying to cover their failure to innovate with yet more lies.