Otmar Szafnauer says Aston Martin’s problem with Formula 1 rule changes regarding car floors has been “put to bed” for this year.
Aston Martin is no longer considering legal action as it has reportedly turned to Mercedes for help over their complaints.
Adjustments to the regulations for 2021 have significantly hampered Aston Martin and they have fallen behind in terms of performance with just five points from the first four races.
The problem was having to cut away a small piece of the bottom of their cars to reduce downforce, which Aston Martin and Mercedes have hit more than the others with their lower raked vehicles.
Questioning the process that led to the rule changes, Aston Martin wanted to find out why Formula 1 and the FIA had jointly pushed through a second series of aero changes for safety reasons while the teams had already agreed on optimizations that the Aero performance would have been reduced anyway.
In addition, tire supplier Pirelli has finally developed a somewhat more robust tire for 2021 that can withstand higher loads.
The implication was that the additional changes did not actually consist of the outlined safety reasons, but were instead aimed at linking Mercedes with Aston Martin “collateral damage”.
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Aston Martin had talks with the FIA on the matter and said they hope action will be taken during the season to correct the effects of the rule changes – and a suggestion that the team hasn’t ruled out that legal action could follow if it does didn’t happen.
But Szafnauer, the Aston Martin team principal, has now announced that the matter will not be pursued further.
“No, I think that was put to bed,” he said, quoted by The Race. “We had good conversations and discussions and tried to understand the process and how it worked.
“Nothing will go on.”
Szafnauer also insisted that Aston Martin will not be affected by the new tests on “bendy wings” that will be conducted ahead of the French Grand Prix.
“Everything bends, but our pillars and rear wing don’t bend nearly as much as the others,” he said.
“And the rule isn’t that if you pass the test you’re legal, that’s not the rule.
“We are on the right side of legality, we passed the test without any problems.
“Yes, we bend a little because everything bends, but our rear pillars and our rear wings are super stiff.”
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