F1 News
- August 1, 2006
Mass Dampers to make a come back?
Renault have announced that they will be running their Mass Damper system in the next race at Hungaroring. The FIA have said that they will not punish teams for running the system.
This is due to the hearing not taking place until after the Italian GP, and Renault lobbied the FIA to allow them to run the system unpunished until after the hearing.
This adds to the belief that Renault suffered badly this weekend as they elected not to run the system, as the FIA said that they would punish teams found running it when the hearing is finished.
It comes at a bad time for Renault, as the mid season testing ban is now in force, and even though the team have around three races to come up with a replacement (if it is deemed illegal) they cannot test the new system on the test track. This leaves Renault (and the other teams that ran it) with the probability that they will be testing the new systems over the race weekends.
The other dilemma is , do the teams waist resources on coming up with a new system, if there is a possibility that the Mass Damper will be allowed after September, as it will eat into development time and budget that could be better assigned elsewhere?
Renault are still saying that it was tyre blistering from the new Michelin tyres that caused the lack of pace, however none of the other teams suffered the same issues, on the same tyres, so was it the fact that the system was not there to protect the tyres that caused the blistering in the first place?
Renault are not the only team to run the system, Ferrari admitted to taking it off their car in Germany, however it is believed that Renault have taken the system to it's pinnacle, and the design of the 2006 Renault car is done to maximise the benefit of the system. The other teams that use it have only introduced it this year after the cars where designed, and so would not be so heavily penalised if the system was removed.
With Michael Schumacher only 11 points behind in the drivers standing, Renault must be hoping they can 'legally' bring the system back as soon as possible.
Renault are still taking a risk running the system in the three races however as Charlie Whiting has said that he could only recommend to the court, which is an independent body, against taking any action. Therefore if the court deem the system illegal, Renault risk loosing any or all the points they gain in the three races they use it in before the hearing.
