Red Bull has gained an early win of sorts after successfully protesting the legality of Mercedes’ rear brake ducts.
Auto Motor und Sport has reported the FIA responded in the form of a technical directive to teams, which hasn’t been made public, after Red Bull claimed the design on the W11 didn’t meet Article 11.5 of the technical regulations.
That Article states that the ducts are considered part of the entire rear braking system and should not protrude:
- More than 160mm above or below the centre-line of the wheel on a parallel plane to the ground.
- More than 120mm towards the car’s centre plane on a parallel plane to the inner face of the wheel rim
- More than 330mm from the centre of the wheel towards the front of the car and 180mm towards the rear when viewed from the side.
It is understood the technical directive has forced Mercedes to make changes to their rear braking system ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
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That though may not be the last of the legality questions hovering over the W11 with some intrigue still remaining over the DAS [Dual-Axis Steering] that was debuted in testing.
Though the FIA has previously confirmed it does meet the regulations, Red Bull was vocal in suggesting otherwise and may have been scouring for any case they could in Melbourne.
