Renault Disqualified From Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix
Renault has been caught in violation of the FIA Sporting Regulations in regard to driver aids and has lost 9 championship points.
The legendary French manufacturer’s Formula 1 seasons sees another downfall. The team has struggled with mechanical issues arising throughout the bulk of the season, putting them in troublesome situations regardless of their team’s obvious talent. As we make our way into the end of the 2019 season, Renault attempts to regain at least some pride in the final races. The Constructor’s Championship was won by Mercedes during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka and only Lewis Hamilton and Valteri Bottas are in the running for winning the Driver’s Championship.
Renault has been making their way as a mid-field competitor for many seasons now and has been constantly been fighting for position with their main competition, McLaren and Racing Point. McLaren have been running Renault engines for some time now and have also had a string of issues with the power unit and have decided to part ways with the French company. The blows dealt to the manufacturer seemingly only build as the the years go by. Their goal is not to be in the mid-field battle at all, but rather fighting for the top spots and podiums. Their recent disqualification in the most recent Grand Prix at Suzuka, informed to us by an article by Formula 1, is not helping their case. Let’s learn a little more.
The initial protest was brought to attention by rivals Racing Point, where the allegation was there was a violation of the rulebook by having a “pre-set, automated brake bias system”. The implication is that the cars were capable of changing brake bias without any driver input in a calculated fashion. The drivers are capable of changing brake bias via their steering wheel at any point during the race or qualifying. The FIA’s inspection of the Renault vehicles and determined that there was no issues with the controls or programming to allow such a loophole.
However, the stewards did find that the team was in violation of regulations in relation to driver aids. According to the rules, the driver must be capable of driving the car without any driver aids or assistance and any changes to setup must be made manually during the lap. With this, the team will lose both fifth and tenth place points to their middle-field rivals. This decision may be appealed by Renault, but it is unlikely that they will do so. Currently, Renault holds 5th in the Constructor’s standings and 12th and 13th in the Driver’s standings. This decision will without a doubt hurt their chances of maintaining a lead over Toro Rosso and catching McLaren.
