Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

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mario
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Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by mario »

So, following investigation by the FIA into the braking system of Renault's car, it has now been confirmed that both Renault drivers have been disqualified from the Japanese GP. The disqualification, though, does seem to have raised a few questions in the way that it has been concluded.

The protest by Racing Point alleged that the braking system broke Articles 11.1.3, 11.1.4 and 8.6.3 of the technical regulations, which are regulations that prohibit the use of powered devices which alter brake balance automatically (i.e. which are not controlled by the driver). They also argued that it breached Article 27.1, which states that the driver must drive the car alone and unaided.

Now, after receiving certain details in private from Renault, the FIA have said that the system Renault have used is not a pre-set system that depends on lap distance, as alleged by Racing Point, and appears to be an integral part of the rear braking system that Renault use. The FIA have accepted the counter-argument from Renault that the system, as used, exploits certain ambiguities in the regulations that means the system is in compliance with Articles 11.1.3, 11.1.4 and 8.6.3.

However, because the system saves the driver from having to manually adjust the brake balance around the lap, the FIA have decided that it does constitute a driver aid and therefore breaches Article 27.1. On that basis, they have decided to disqualify Renault from the race. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/rena ... a/4585059/

I can see that causing some dissent and confusion, as it does seem hard to envisage how a component on the car can be technically legal and yet illegal at the same time.
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by Rob Dylan »

Wow ok so this stuff was real then. I usually keep my mouth shut when it comes to post-race court cases, but Renault have now basically forfeited that possible 4th in the championship and lost a vital nine points. But the really good news that has come out of this is that Lance Stroll has had his deserved points reinstated! Was this just an elaborate plot by the FiA to give him that 9th place again? :twisted:
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by Butterfox »

Funny enough for Racing Point, the team who benefits most from this is Toro Rosso.
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

The engines change automatically in terms of where to do extra power and where to recharge, don't they? Isn't that one big driver aid by this judgment?

This wrote:Funny enough for Racing Point, the team who benefits most from this is Toro Rosso.

Force, er, Racing Point are getting the most points out of it, gaining 4 to Toro Rosso's 3.
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by yannicksamlad »

I cannot comment on the validity of the FIA's conclusions, but I think theyve done pretty well; got the hearing done fairly quickly and a DSQ for this sort of infringement seems fair .
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by IceG »

I am intrigued by this.

How did Force In.., sorry, Racing Point find out? Why them and not another team? Or were they a stalking horse?

One could imagine some teams have dedicated staff following the in-car video feeds from some drivers throughout the race. Perhaps they noticed an absence of action to adjust the bias? Or some indicator on the steering dash?

As an aside I vaguely remember a Honda engine team having a problem with the power delivery as it was tuned to match certain corners at a specific track and the driver saying he could drive faster than the car would let him. Was that Alonso at McLaren? How would that be different?
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by Wallio »

I love how the FIA says that the device/software/firmware/voodoo doesn't actually break any of the rules Force India protested under, but is illegal anyway because "herp derp driver aids". Ditch anti-stall, semi-auto boxes, DRS, etc etc then as well. F1 used to be a technological exercise. Still is, at least on the engine side, but lately the box is quite small. Oh well, about the only way Stroll can score I suppose.
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by mario »

IceG wrote:I am intrigued by this.

How did Force In.., sorry, Racing Point find out? Why them and not another team? Or were they a stalking horse?

One could imagine some teams have dedicated staff following the in-car video feeds from some drivers throughout the race. Perhaps they noticed an absence of action to adjust the bias? Or some indicator on the steering dash?

As an aside I vaguely remember a Honda engine team having a problem with the power delivery as it was tuned to match certain corners at a specific track and the driver saying he could drive faster than the car would let him. Was that Alonso at McLaren? How would that be different?

The rumour is that an ex-Renault employee revealed it to Racing Point when he joined the team, explaining how they found out about it.

With regards to the Honda engine, what you are thinking about is Alonso's qualifying run in Belgium in 2017. Honda confirmed that the engine mapping was set up so, based on the drivers throttle input, it could work out where it was around the circuit and would then adjust how the hybrid boost would be applied.

The problem occurred when Alonso went through Pouhon flat out, which he had not done until then. That meant the onboard software thought he was still on the straight between Liege and Pouhon, so the hybrid system did not deploy the amount of power it normally would have done if it knew it was on the exit of Pouhon. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alon ... 6/3042634/

I guess that the reason it would not be classified as a form of driver aid is because it is dependent on the actions of the driver and because, as that incident with Alonso showed, it can be overridden by the driver.
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Re: Renault Disqualified from Japanese GP

Post by AdrianBelmonte_ »

IceG wrote:I am intrigued by this.

How did Force In.., sorry, Racing Point find out? Why them and not another team? Or were they a stalking horse?


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