Other teams, however, were less ambiguous about what the clarification was really about, with Williams deputy Claire Williams declaring that she thinks the sort of thing Ferrari and Haas are doing is “outside of the regulations”.
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The use of wind tunnels, crucial to aerodynamic developments, is restricted in Formula One to cut costs but Haas, being now outside the championship, are not subject to the same limits.
Maurizio Arrivabene says Mercedes was “fair” in its approach to the FIA to clarify a series of rules which could have potentially seen it come under strict scrutiny for its close relationship with incoming team Haas F1.
“We are looking at 2016, and especially in consideration of 2017 rules where the auto might be completely different, about the scope of development we could be having with another team, about sharing resource”, motorsport head Toto Wolff had said.
As the questions related to appendices in the sporting regulations, Mercedes was told to raise the issue with the stewards at a grand prix if it wanted clarification and in Abu Dhabi it submitted its request for the issues to be looked into. Appendix 6 lists the parts a team must own the intellectual property to in order to compete and Appendix 8 deals with restrictions over aerodynamic testing.
It adds that the detailed wording in the regulations “is also meant to ensure no competitor is able to circumvent the goal or intention of the restrictions by, for example, using a third party to carry out aerodynamic development on their behalf”.
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Ferrari and Haas have been cleared of wrongdoing as the FIA tightens collaboration rules. Three months would be considered as a genuine long term arrangement. Normally “gardening leave” is a contractual matter between the employee and the competitor from which that employee is leaving, and “isolation” is a similar arrangement and obligation for the competitor to which the employee is moving.
