Wolff doubts Racing Point case will go to F1 appeal court

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff does not think the Racing Point “copying” controversy row will end up going to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal.

Racing Point were docked 15 points and fined €400,000 for illegally copying Mercedes’ brake ducts, though it has been permitted to continue to run the design for the remainder of the 2020 season.

Renault initially appealed the verdict as they felt the punishment dished out to Racing Point did not go far enough, but the French manufacturer decided to withdraw its protest last week, citing that it felt future regulation changes regarding the subject of the design process “led to concrete progress in safeguarding originality”.

Speaking at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, Wolff said he reckons Racing Point’s rivals motivation to appeal was more concerned with the remarkable performance of the RP20, which closely resembles Mercedes’ title-winning W10 challenger.

“I think this is part of the politics and Formula 1,” Wolff told Sky. “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.”

Ferrari and Racing Point themselves were the other two teams to formally appeal the verdict, but the Scuderia has given no indication as to whether it intends to follow Renault in dropping its appeal.

Asked whether he believes Ferrari will also withdraw their protest, Wolff replied: “I don’t know.”