Mercedes race cars illegal?

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has informed the teams that, in its opinion, the so-called FRIC suspension is illegal, which means that it could be banned before the next race in Germany.

FRIC (Front and Rear Interconected Suspension), where the front and rear suspension of the car are interconnected, is one of the areas where the Mercedes team gains an advantage over other teams, but according to the FIA, this is not the case. in accordance with the rules.

"Now that we've seen and studied almost all current versions of the related suspensions, it's our official opinion that most of these are against the rules," Charlie Whiting wrote in a statement to the teams. which, however, is contrary to Article 3.15 of the Technical Rules of Formula One. This prohibits all devices and systems that affect the aerodynamics of the car.

Lotus tried to implement the first implementation of the system in 2008, but it was later declared illegal, precisely because of the violation of the said article. At Mercedes, they have improved the design and this year they are supposed to have the most complex system of all on their race cars, but it is certainly not possible to determine exactly which team would lose the most due to the ban.

Since the teams only have one more day of testing before the next race, and most of the cars are closely connected to the suspension, the FIA ​​is willing to wait with the ban if the teams agree. They have to decide as soon as possible whether they agree to the ban in the next race, or whether the system should be banned only next season.

Team consensus will probably be difficult to achieve, especially since some teams do not use the system, yet others feel that this is only an important part of their race car. But if the teams do not decide unanimously one way or another, Whiting warned that all race cars with the said system will be scrutinized by the commissioners at the German Grand Prix due to non-compliance with the rules.

The fact that the FIA ​​has declared the suspension system illegal, raises a number of questions, including whether the results of previous races are regular.