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The wonder about Mercedes' official complaint re listed parts and aerodynamic testing, and subsequent verdict handed down 24 hours later over the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, is not that any form of intervention or clarity was requested, but that, as is so often the case in Formula 1, it took almost six months before the matter was formally raised.
Although neither Ferrari nor Haas F1 teams were mentioned in what was termed "Request for Settlement of a Matter" by the stewards, the contents made clear that Mercedes was requesting clarity on the relationship between the two teams - who had entered into a formal co-operative car design and development programme.
Nothing underhand had occurred, nor were there any secrets bar the usual commercial undertakings. After all, the modus operandi decided on - make that "discovered" - by Haas had been to known to all teams since it first applied to compete in F1, with approval granted by the governing body in April 2014.
