Quote:
Originally Posted by Lothar
Jim,
Remember the "hidden fuel" issue with Honda. They were stripped of points and excluded from several races. Ferrari was simply told to cease and desist as a result of the movable floor. The movable rear wing employed by Ferrari moved with respect to its angle of attack which altered the drag and downforce. Again, no penalty for Ferrari. They simply had to stop using it. The McLaren wing simply moved up and down with no change in angle of attack. It was looked at and deemed to be compliant.
Lastly, the teams care more about the Constructors Championship. Stripping McLaren of their series points accomplished what the WMSC wanted. To eliminate Alonso or Hamilton would simply be peeing in their own bath water.
I suggest you look a little closer.
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How about the mass dampener on Renault, it clearly gave them an advantage and no penalty just had to stop using it.
Both of Ferrari's infractions were subject to debate, They were not as blatant as trying to hide fuel. They were interpretations of the rules that were deemed illegal after debate. The floorboard passed the flexibility test, it was not until McLaren got hold of Ferrari's plans that they knew it was there and told the FIA to look harder. One could argue, since it passed the flexibility test it might be legal. A couple of teams were doing it nit just Ferrari.
BTW - It was Ferrari's front wing not rear, the front was not attached at one end and would flex with speed kind of the same way the McLaren one flexes with speed.