Esteban Ocon, Force India, Spa-Francorchamps, 2018

FIA stewards rule Force India will not have new power unit and gearbox allocation

2018 Belgian Grand Prix

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The Belgian Grand Prix stewards have formally ruled Force India will not receive a new allocation of power unit parts, despite the team being approved as a new entrant.

Force India’s cars have been entered by Racing Point Force India following its takeover by a consortium involving Lawrence Stroll. It replaces the previous entry, Sahara Force India.

The new team has forfeited all the points scored by Sahara Force India. its drivers points totals remain unchanged. However the stewards admitted the rules did not appear to indicate whether the new team would start the weekend with a fresh allocation of power units for the season, or continue with its previous allocation.

“The current regulations do not appear to take into account the highly unusual situation where a team is excluded mid-season and a new team effectively ‘replaces’ it, and the drivers move from the former team to the new team,” they noted.

The stewards judged that “as the drivers have retained their respective points accumulated to date in the 2018 Events in the championship it is both logical and fair, that the elements, units and gearboxes used by their respective cars in the excluded team, should carry forward to the new team.”

“Accordingly, we decide that the numbers of power unit elements and gearboxes referred to in Article 23 of the Sporting Regulations and used to date in 2018 by Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team shall carry forward to Racing Point Force India F1 Team.

“It is noted that the team principal of Racing Point Force India F1 Team publicly expressed his prior agreement with this.”

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The stewards’ decision

The Stewards note the following three decisions of the FIA:

1. On August 23, 2018, Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team was excluded from the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship with immediate effect.

2. The points that the above team was awarded from its results in Events to date in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship under Article 6.2 of the Sporting Regulations are forfeited.

3. The points that the drivers for the Sahara Fore India Formula 1 Team have been awarded from their results in the Events to date in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship under Article 6.1 of the Sporting regulations are not forfeited. Instead they are retained by the drivers and may be combined for purposes of said Article 6.1 with any points that the same drivers are awarded from their results whilst driving for the Racing Point Force India F1 Team in Events in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship that takes place after 23 August 2018.

In relation to the application of Article 23 of the Sporting Regulations (“Spare cars, engines and gearboxes”) the Stewards note that the matter of the number of power unit elements and gearboxes needs to be settled, in that the current regulations do not appear to take into account the highly unusual situation where a team is excluded mid-season and a new team effectively “replaces” it, and the drivers move from the former team to the new team. The question arises “do the power unit elements and gearbox numbers accumulated to date by the excluded Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team carry over to the new Racing Point Force India F1 Team or do they revert to zero for each of the drivers?”

The Stewards note their responsibility under Article 11.9.1 of the International Sporting Code where they have supreme authority for the enforcement of the Code, which under Article 1.1.1 requires the fundamental principles of “…fairness”.

Article 11.9.2.a of the Code empowers the Stewards to settle any matter which might arise during an event.

The Stewards consider that as the drivers have retained their respective points accumulated to date in the 2018 Events in the Championship it is both logical and fair, that the elements, units and gearboxes used by their respective cars in the excluded team, should carry forward to the new team.

Accordingly, we decide that the numbers of power unit elements and gearboxes referred to in Article 23 of the Sporting Regulations and used to date in 2018 by Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team shall carry forward to Racing Point Force India F1 Team.

It is noted that the Team Principal of Racing Point Force India F1 Team publicly expressed his prior agreement with this.

Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal the decisions of the Stewards (with the exception of those referred to in Article 12.2.4 of the FIA International Sporting Code), in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Article 9.1.1 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicate time limits.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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17 comments on “FIA stewards rule Force India will not have new power unit and gearbox allocation”

  1. Wrong ruling from the stewards here. The rules clearly state that when a driver moves teams they don’t take their allocation with them. Since FI have had to enter under a new entry (and lose their points etc) the drivers have moved team.

    What happens now if this situation arises again but the replacement entrant doesn’t use the same engine manufacturer? Can’t very well take their allocation then can they? Another special case ruling to get round this special case ruling?

    1. Have to agree Martin, it seems petty. And in addition, the new team do not get the points of the old team either, so why are they saddled with their engine allocation?

      I am glad that the owners decided to go along with it, because they seem to rightly believe that the team can cope, and it is most important that they get to race for the rest of the year. But, that doesn’t make it right.

      1. @bosyber
        Ignoring my own personal views, I can completely understand why this ruling was made.

        Ferrari have made it clear that they dont care as much about the constructors title and go all in for the drivers title. So what’s to stop them putting a new engine in Vettel’s car each race, creating a new team every few races to give him a new allocation of engines?

        I think the main reason for it is that it is, fundamentally, the same team. Yes, on paper it’s different, but apart from the name and the owners, what else has changed?

        1. So basically, they saw the dance STR did last year, don’t like it, and rather than change (amend?) the rule, they ‘fix’ it this way? @minnis, I see what you are saying, but it doesn’t really make my opinion on this much more positive.

    2. I was thinking the same thing, but someone else posted that the PU allocation is for the car. Since this new team is entering the old Force India cars, the power unit allocation comes with the car.

      But as i sit here and type that out, it brings up another problem. Since this is a whole new team/new entry, could someone protest that they didn’t design and build their own car? People complain about Haas getting parts and technical assistance from Ferrari, RPFI went out and bought 2 complete cars ready to go.

      1. @lancer033

        People complain about Haas getting parts and technical assistance from Ferrari,

        they don’t cite legal reasons though afaik – nobody complained about HRT simply having their chassis designed whole for them by iirc Dallara.

        1. @davidnotcoulthard IP has to be unique, and designed by someone who didn’t design anyone else’s car on the grid at that moment. The Hispania/Dallara deal complied with this because Hispania’s car was unique and Dallara wasn’t building for any other F1 team at the same time. What couldn’t happen was Dallara designing both Hispania’s and, say, Marussia’s at the same time (or Hispania fielding a car that had been fielded by Marussia the previous year to save money).

          1. @alianora-la-canta There you go, the more or less perfect explanation behind the legality of Racing Point’s car.

      2. @lancer033 The car’s IP is with the new team. Construction by third parties is permitted if they didn’t make the same thing for another team (or the shared part is on the list of exempt parts). Therefore, neither the design/construction issue is not a problem here.

        If the IP had been auctioned off, or the outsourcers had started making components for a different F1 team in the interim, then there’d be a problem with the constructor regulation. Thankfully, the team wasn’t in the sink long enough for this to be a problem.

      3. thanks for the clarification. I thought the team had to design the car in house and Dallara had just manufactured HRT’s car.

    3. This is completely F1 bs! SHAMEFUL! They strip out the poonts from the team for being a new entry but then they don’t get a fresh allocation? Don’t they have a bit of respect for the fans??? Sometimes I wish I didn’t love this sport so much.

  2. I think this is fair, but if they are stuck with the old teams cars, staff, drivers, engine allocation and tyre choices for the drivers, and they get to keep the column 1 money… then surely it is also fair that they keep points earned.

    They are either a new team, or they aren’t. Consistently inconsistent, all this.

    1. I hit post by accident.
      While inconsistent, I’m just glad they are racing. And they do stand a chance of still getting a reasonable constructors championship place – maybe this is why the team have been willing to accept all this to get a place on the grid?

  3. Agreed. A PU element allocation is allocated based on car entry rather than team or driver.

  4. While a new team I would like to see them keep points & prize money or have a new allocation of Pu’s.
    Rules seem to say neither but stocked they are actually racing.
    Go boys!!

  5. That is unfair. If they dock all their points stating that it is a new team, it clearly means that they should be given new engine allocations.

  6. I am on the fence on this.
    It was a name change – New ownership, yes , BUT it is still the same team… same cars… same drivers, thus all on track should remain the same… the points penalty is enough. in my humble opinion, but I am not an F1 Lawyer/Barrister/Solicitor.

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