Marko: Racing Point and Mercedes 'perpetrators' in copy case

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko has called Racing Point and Mercedes the "perpetrators" in the copying case involving the former's 2020 car, insisting the German team was the pink squad's willing accomplice.

Following a protest initiated by Renault that targeted the brake ducts of Racing Point's RP20, the FIA levied a hefty fine on Lawrence Stroll's team and cancelled 15 of the team's 63 points, insisting it had breached the technical rules by copying the brake ducts from Mercedes' 2019 championship winning car.

However, Racing Point has appealed the verdict while Ferrari and Renault have also lodged an appeal, disputing the leniency of the judgement.

Marko wants the appeal process to clarify the rules governing copying and the exchange of information between teams, believing Mercedes overstepped the regulations by providing its engine customer with information it was not entitled to have.

"We expect a clarification of what is allowed and what is not, without there being too many gray areas in the regulations," said the Austrian, speaking to SpeedWeek.

"What Racing Point did and what Mercedes did, that results in two perpetrators. I expect the FIA to define terms before the next race."

• Kolles hints at collusion between Racing Point and Mercedes

Marko also disputes the FIA's decision to allow Racing Point to continue using the outlawed brake duct elements on its RP20 until the end of the season, while Renault continues to lodge a protest at every race.

"What is not understandable is once a team is penalized but is allowed to continue racing and is then warned at each race," he said.

"It is clear to us: copying as done by Racing Point is not permitted, just as passing on information to a competitor is not permitted. And there is evidence that Mercedes did that.

"The outcome of the proceedings is also decisive for the work between our Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri teams."

The FIA’s head of single-seaters, Nikolas Tombazis, and FIA secretary general for sport Peter Bayer have already informed teams that the technical rules for 2021 would be amended to "expressly prevent teams from using photography or other reverse engineering techniques to copy large parts of other teams' cars".

A rule change that will perhaps alleviate Helmut Marko's concerns moving forward, regardless of the outcome of the Racing Point appeal case.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter