Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has raised eyebrows after revealing a “settlement” with Ferrari over their 2019 engine.
Last season, the Italian team enjoyed a healthy straight-line speed advantage for much of the year, something that led to increased scrutiny when they claimed six straight poles and three wins after the summer break.
Indeed, both Red Bull and Mercedes sought clarification from the FIA on possible tricks they thought Ferrari could be using, in particular, to circumvent the limit on fuel flow.
That led to two technical directives, the first in Austin and the second in Brazil, with the first certainly taking the edge off their engine performance but team boss Mattia Binotto continually insisted the drop was linked to running more downforce.
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Though neither of their rivals went as far as to protest Ferrari’s engine, the governing body did conduct an investigation into the unit and it was the results of that which has led to this statement.
“The FIA announces that, after thorough technical investigations, it has concluded its analysis of the operation of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Power Unit and reached a settlement with the team. The specifics of the agreement will remain between the parties,” it read.
“The FIA and Scuderia Ferrari have agreed to a number of technical commitments that will improve the monitoring of all Formula 1 Power Units for forthcoming championship seasons as well as assist the FIA in other regulatory duties in Formula 1 and in its research activities on carbon emissions and sustainable fuels,” it added.
Though officially no admission of any rule-breaking was made, one rival team member has told InsideRacing that Ferrari is on an effective last warning from the FIA in regards to its engine, and another rules breach would result in a punishment being handed down.
It is also understood that Ferrari has undertaken some major changes to the design of their engine for 2020, potentially as a result of these investigations.
If so, that could explain some of the drop in top speed seen during pre-season testing in addition to the team taking a high downforce approach with the SF1000.