Mercedes and Racing Point had to change the rear suspension detail at the last minute because of the position of the rear brake cooling intakes that Red Bull protested in Melbourne.
The rules state that all parts of the brake cooling intake elements, which always have additional aero elements that do not serve to cool the brakes, must be within 160 mm above the center of the wheel.
But thanks to the raised rear suspension wheel attachment point, Mercedes has extended the structure of the brake cooling intake and thus exploited the hole in the rules, which they also used last season.
Due to Red Bull’s protest, the FIA has issued a new technical directive, TD 014/20, which prohibits the use of any ducts in the area above the 160mm limit above the wheel center, and has given teams two races to create a temporary solution.
One option is to have an outlet in the area of equal size to allow air to pass through it without entering the rear brakes, and another option is to close the illegal opening.
Mercedes has modified the wheel mounts to meet the new TD 014/20 technical directive and the outlet is now as large as the inlet while it has been noticeably smaller so far, directing some of the air into the rear brakes.
Racing Point has just been able to supply the necessary parts in time to modify its rear brake ducts, and they have decided to close the controversial hatch as they are using a 2019 Mercedes rear suspension.
“We have the same suspension as the Mercedes 2019. Last year, no one complained. During the winter, the FIA wrote to us that the wheel carrier concepts from last year were approved. Why this U-turn now,” asks Racing Point Technical Director Andy Green.
