F1 News
- August 23, 2006
Renault plumb out of luck
Not only is their luck on the track taking a turn for the worst, but the FIA court appeal about the Mass Damper system has ruled that the decision that the German Grand Prix stewards made ruling it legal, has been overturned.
The FIA has won the appeal, and the Mass Damper system has been deemed to infringe article 3.15 of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations.
This means that the teams that were running it are no longer allowed to. Some of the teams do not see this as too much of an issue (like Ferrari who had started to use it). However it will affect Renault badly, at least in the short term.
The Renault team have been using it for around 18months, and this years chassis was tuned and designed to use the system.
Renault however would have been working on a solution for the problem, and we should see something on the car this weekend. However this new system whatever it is will not be as well known or tested as the Mass Damper.
2 Responses to “Renault plumb out of luck”
The FIA views the “mass damper” - a counterweight mounted within the nose of the car - as a movable aerodynamic device, even though it never comes into contact with the airflow around the car. See the technical explanation here http://ecsurf.com/renault-mass-damper.html Is it a movable "aerodynamic device"? Go figure…
By cyanyde on Sep 5, 2006