Wolff not expecting Racing Point case to reach appeal court

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff doubts the appeal process against Racing Point will run its full course, the Austrian expecting a resolution between all parties to be reached next week.

Following multiple protest from midfield rival Renault, Racing Point was found by the FIA to have breached the technical rules by using brake ducts on its 2020 car that were deemed to have been copied from Mercedes 2019 car.

The Silverstone-based outfit was fined €400,000 and docked 15 championship points. Racing Point has appealed the decision but so has Ferrari which is contesting the leniency of the punishment.

Renault, McLaren and Williams had all signaled their intention to also appeal the verdict but ultimately all three teams withdrew from the process.

Wolff does not expect the case to reach the FIA's International Court of Appeal.

"I think this is part of the politics and Formula 1," Wolff told Sky F1. "It was a little bit of pushing against Racing Point’s performance, which is really outstanding this season.

"But it’s not down to a brake duct. I think they’ve done a really good job. And you can see how close they are to us.

"So I think this is a good group of people that have run in previous years with a low budget, with a tight ship, and this is why they have just closed that gap also to us.

"But I think this is going to resolve all hopefully next week. I don’t expect this to go to the ICA."

• Perez stands pat: "No reason to change" Racing Point lineup

Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul said the team had dropped its appeal against Racing Point because the French manufacturer was satisfied with the FIA's stance on copying and the restrictions that will be introduced into the rules in 2021.

"Basically what we’ve been doing since the start is to get a guarantee and make sure that we share the vision with the FIA and Formula 1 that the championship is a championship for constructors," Abiteboul told Sky F1.

"Not constructors by the definition of an OEM [original equipment manufacturer], but people building, designing their car, owning the IP of the car with 10 original designs and original aerodynamic concepts. We don’t want a championship of copying or tracing.

"So we wanted to make sure that whatever the regulations are currently saying, the future regulations will make sure that this is the case.

"And we have received guarantees that it’s the vision, but also that the regulation will evolve in that direction in order to avoid any ambiguity. So that’s what’s happening."

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