However, a subsequent visit to the Maranello outfit’s wind tunnel by a representative from the governing body gave the team a clean bill of health.
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Mercedes has approached the FIA to clarify rules and regulations regarding bodywork design and wind tunnel testing by incoming competitors, asserting that Ferrari could be gaining unfairly from its technical partnership with the new Haas F1 team.
Analysing the issue on Sky Sports F1, 1996 world champion Damon Hill said it was normal for teams to keep close tabs on what their rivals were up to away from the track. Mercedes argued it was seeking clarification with regards to opportunities in the regulations it was considering for the future.
“There’s so much talk about Ferrari and Haas and what it means and what did we seek”, he said. Asked whether the sport could be entering a new era where big teams had to have a junior team, Wolff agreed that the stewards’ ruling could lead to that.
The FIA has made clear its intention, via the rules, was to place limits on the amount of aero development each competitor would be able to carry out and to prevent an escalation of costs associated with research. These include the monocoque and all aerodynamic surfaces.
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said the team had no concerns about Mercedes’ actions or potential outcomes. 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.
There have, however, been suspicions that the Italian team have benefited from their relationship and the wind tunnel activities of North Carolina-based Haas in pushing their aerodynamic development.
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The FIA has confirmed receiving verbal submissions from Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams and Force India, and written submissions from not only Mercedes, Ferrari and Force India, but also Manor.
