FIA-Ferrari PU Statement Controversy

[jumpingfish]

Test the rule the FIA have quoted to cover themselves in this statement. The point (again) is that I doubt this will vanish as it’s over Millions of Pounds and I get the impression Red Bull (for a start) are never shy of sticking it to others.

I get that as a Ferrari fan you want this to stop. However unfortunately I think you’ll be disappointed.

I'll not be disapointed and I made screenshot of this page for memory. H. Marko will threaten with protests and appeals to the court, but will not achieve anything.

We have a saying where i come from. If one person tells you you’re drunk, it’s okay to not believe him. If more start telling you the same thing, maybe it’s time for you to go to sleep. I refuse to believe, all the F1 teams would have come together in an unprecedented way unless they had a solid understanding of either a breach, or they way it can be done. I also refuse to believe this block of teams will now simply back off. They will simply not, due to money, sportsmanship and time invested.

Obviously, they will take steps and protests. We will see this soon, what they will get after all. The most interesting is ahead.

[Xwang]

And for the record, I’m a Ferrari fan.

It’s clear that Ferrari settled to prevent eventual litigation against them, indicating they knew what they were doing was in breach of the regulations.

If that wasn’t the case, they would have a thousand lawyers knocking down the FIA’s door for daring to suggest they were guilty while having no evidence to support it.

Again, I’m a Ferrari fan - but a settlement should not have been possible. I would have stuck by Ferrari even if they got sanctioned for cheating (rightly, if that’s the case). This is worse.

You are at home alone with your beloved black cat. Guards raid and accuse you of being a wizard. You say you are not, but they continue to be convinced that you are even after checking around several times and without finding any evidence.
They then tell you either kill the cat or go to the stake without any proof. What would you do? If you decide to kill the cat does it mean that you are really a wizard?

If Ferrari believes they’ve done nothing wrong, then Ferrari’s lawyers will be about to bring all sorts of pain upon the FIA for saying in a public statement:

"The extensive and thorough investigations undertaken during the 2019 season raised suspicions that the Scuderia Ferrari PU could be considered as not operating within the limits of the FIA regulations at all times.”

Innocent until proven guilty, right? The FIA couldn’t prove guilt - so the above is awfully inflammatory and burgeoning on defamation IF Ferrari is committed to a position of 100% innocence.

There are many people who have gone to court convinced of their case but who have ended up losing. Being confident you are right is in no way the same as being confident a court will see things your way.

It should be obvious by now that this is a hugely complex situation (in terms of the tech involved). It's by no means certain that a court would be able to field any technically competent experts who actually understand this stuff properly and if they won't be able to understand it fully (and, after all, it looks like the FIA doesn't either) then would Ferrari want to gamble on a layman giving a proper verdict? Settling at least provides some safeguards.

Only lawyers are sure of winning (their fees) when they go to court!

[Jolle]

For a billion dollar operation involving some of the largest companies on the planet, releasing a statement like this plus the timing is edging towards incompetence....

[RZS10]

It's not just edging towards incompetence, if you can't (or don't want to) enforce your own rules you are incompetent, simple as ...

[gshevlin]

The FIA response to the teams is like a longer, more elaborate rewording of the original statement from last week. It does not address the team complaints specifically.

"Following yesterday’s announcement by seven F1 teams, the FIA would like to make the following clarifications:
The FIA has conducted detailed technical analysis on the Scuderia Ferrari Power Unit as it is entitled to do for any competitor in the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The extensive and thorough investigations undertaken during the 2019 season raised suspicions that the Scuderia Ferrari PU could be considered as not operating within the limits of the FIA regulations at all times. The Scuderia Ferrari firmly opposed the suspicions and reiterated that its PU always operated in compliance with the regulations. The FIA was not fully satisfied but decided that further action would not necessarily result in a conclusive case due to the complexity of the matter and the material impossibility to provide the unequivocal evidence of a breach.
To avoid the negative consequences that a long litigation would entail especially in light of the uncertainty of the outcome of such litigations and in the best interest of the championship and of its stakeholders, the FIA, in compliance with Article 4 (ii) of its Judicial and Disciplinary Rules (JDR), decided to enter into an effective and dissuasive settlement agreement with Ferrari to terminate the proceedings.
This type of agreement is a legal tool recognised as an essential component of any disciplinary system and is used by many public authorities and other sport federations in the handling of disputes.
The confidentiality of the terms of the settlement agreement is provided for by Article 4 (vi) of the JDR.
The FIA will take all necessary action to protect the sport and its role and reputation as regulator of the FIA Formula One World Championship."

[bonjon1979]

Also, it allows them to keep sticking the knife into Ferrari and keep attention away from their own shady systems! Honestly, if they had released that last statement first this would all be going so much better for all of them.

Also again, if Ferrari are convinced that nothing was illegal about their PU then surely they'll just be running the same system this year?

I believe they are running a completely different PU configuration this year.

Huh. They must've developed an even faster one. They're going to be tough to pass on the straights.

[Vasconia]

Either FIA and Ferrari attracting publicity or both are biggest idiots of this world.

To be honest, the FIA mostly. Should Ferrari have done something dodgy, it's best for them to shut up right now. The FIA on the other hand handled it like utter morons.

They should have published the last statement initially and the controversy would have been way smaller.

[bonjon1979]

The silence from Ferrari is deafening. What are they thinking? Surely, they've just got to come out and say 'we categorically deny any and all accusations of illegality. We look forward to working with the FIA in the future to help ensure compliance with the regulations by all teams across the paddock.

(Incidentally, any members of the Ferrari Board can DM to request my services)

[TAG]

Either FIA and Ferrari attracting publicity or both are biggest idiots of this world.

To be honest, the FIA mostly. Should Ferrari have done something dodgy, it's best for them to shut up right now. The FIA on the other hand handled it like utter morons.

They should have published the last statement initially and the controversy would have been way smaller.

I'm sure Ferrari co wrote the first statement. The entire point was to not declare guilt, it sort of back fired. When even some genuine Ferrari fans are now admitting the obviousness of guilt. It's a bad way to begin a season for all parties involved.

[bonjon1979]

To be honest, the FIA mostly. Should Ferrari have done something dodgy, it's best for them to shut up right now. The FIA on the other hand handled it like utter morons.

They should have published the last statement initially and the controversy would have been way smaller.

I'm sure Ferrari co wrote the first statement. The entire point was to not declare guilt, it sort of back fired. When even some genuine Ferrari fans are now admitting the obviousness of guilt. It's a bad way to begin a season for all parties involved.

Mercedes and Red bull must be pi$$ing themselves.

[bauc]

After all this s@it going on with COVID19, and the possibility of races to be canceled, this drama with FIA & Ferrari was the last thing we needed. The way FIA acted in this last 7-8 days is just ridiculous and below any level of dignity.

If Ferrari are guilty fine them, if they are not announce it and move on

[gshevlin]

We cannot divorce the settlement announcement from wider F1 politics. The 2021 and beyond commercial packages for teams are being finalized, and Ferrari's prior position of extreme privilege (including contentious privileges like their ability to veto changes to the technical regulations) has been under attack from other teams for a while.
It would be rather convenient for Liberty and the FIA if Ferrari was to be found to be abusing the technical regulations at this point in a complex and strategic negotiation process.

[Just_a_fan]

The Scuderia Ferrari firmly opposed the suspicions and reiterated that its PU always operated in compliance with the regulations. The FIA was not fully satisfied but decided that further action would not necessarily result in a conclusive case due to the complexity of the matter and the material impossibility to provide the unequivocal evidence of a breach.

Translation: "we think they're guilty but they've managed to obfuscate everything so well that we're struggling to prove it sufficient to defend if they took us to court."

TL;DR version: "we know Ferrari cheated but we can't prove it."

[JonoNic]

For a billion dollar operation involving some of the largest companies on the planet, releasing a statement like this plus the timing is edging towards incompetence....

This is what I fear. It doesn't matter if Ferrari is found guilty or not. It's that those in charge of governance is incompetent.

[214270]

The ‘settlement’ most likely negates that.

Well, exactly. And what’s in it for Ferrari if they’re confident of their innocence? This means the FIA is free to air their dirty laundry and Ferrari have signed away their right to defend themselves.

Now... why would they want to do that?

Yes Ferrari have left themselves exposed.

Kobe Bryant RIP was routinely labelled a rapist post-settlement, the Apple saga - throttling down older iPhones is regarded as tacit admission of guilt now that a settlement is being finalised. VER can now repeat the claim of cheaters and Ferrari will likely have to eat it or risk probably unraveling the settlement & its confidential parts.

It’s all very strange.