Firm response taken to governing board’s deal with Ferrari.
On February 28, the F.I.A. (Federation International de Automobile or, in English, International Automobile Federation) and Scuderia Ferrari reached a settlement on the legality of its former 2019 power unit. Yesterday, seven of ten rival teams on the Formula 1 grid spoke out about that settlement, releasing a signed letter of protest and saying they will take legal action against F1’s governing body.
At issue is the legality of Ferrari’s fuel sensor system, which gave its cars a significant speed over Mercedes, Honda, and Renault engine systems.
Here is how F.I.A. described the settlement: “The FIA and Scuderia Ferrari have agreed to a number of technical commitments that will improve the monitoring of all Formula One power units for forthcoming championship seasons…as well as assist the FIA in other regulatory duties in Formula One and its research activities on carbon emissions and sustainable fuels.”
In response, the seven complainants wrote: “We, the undersigned teams, were surprised and shocked by the FIA’s statement…. An international sporting regulator has the responsibility to act with the highest standards of governance, integrity, and transparency…. We strongly object to the FIA reaching a confidential settlement agreement with Ferrari…and state publicly our shared commitment to pursue full and proper disclosure in this matter, to ensure that our sport treats all competitors fairly and equally. We do so on behalf of the fans, the participants, and the stakeholders of Formula One.”
The seven teams will take two forms of action–pursuing F.I.A.’s due process and taking F.I.A. to court. Both actions come as Formula 1 prepares to launch the 2020 season next weekend in Australia.
Two teams that did not sign the agreement–Alfa Romeo/Orlen and American Haas F1–are Ferrari’s customers. The Italian company supplies both teams with Ferrari engines.
