Haas "transparent" with FIA on own F1 brake duct design

Until this season teams could purchase brake ducts from rivals, but for 2020 they became listed parts.

Renault's protest against Racing Point, the outcome of which is expected on Friday, hinges on whether the Silverstone team could use a design bought in 2019 on this year's car.

Steiner is adamant that Haas was "transparent" and so determined to meet the new regulation that it hired extra people and went out of its way to demonstrate to the FIA that it hadn't just adopted a Ferrari design, as was previously the case.

"I think we were always transparent, what we are doing, and you can see it on the car," Steiner said. "Because otherwise the car will be as fast as a Ferrari, and it isn't, if we would just copy it. So I think we obeyed the rules.

"Actually we spent a lot of time finding out what the rules are, and we took the initiative to find out, so I think on that side we are very safe, what we did.

"Our brake ducts, we didn't take them from last year, copy them and make them for this year. No, we designed our own brake ducts, we employed special people for it, because we were in conversation with the FIA.

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"It was, how do we do this legally? What do we need to do so we are not illegal? So that is what we did. We employed people, and it cost us a lot more money to do this. Because before we bought the brake ducts, and now, we had to get additional designers from Dallara, and it's all traceable.

"I feel good about what we did. I don't see an issue with it. And I think a lot of people do know what we did, and what we didn't do. We did it to the rule book. So I'm very relaxed, and what is happening on the case hopefully we find out soon, because we are interested as you are."

Steiner says he doesn't want to second guess which way the FIA verdict will go on Racing Point's case.

"What the sentence would be about these brake ducts, I don't know, and I still don't know what they actually did. There are a lot of rumours around which everybody hears, but I don't want to go into rumours, because they don't mean anything to me if I've no facts, there's no point to tell them.

"If it is like it is said, that they copied them or they bought them, that in our opinion is not correct. But first I want to see. There's no hurry for this. There is no stress on our side. We just wait to see what they decide this week, and then we take some thinking time, and then we decide what to do next."

Steiner is adamant that Haas has always operated within the rules in terms of what parts it takes from Ferrari, having been the subject of criticism in the past.

"When you have the suspension, the same gearbox, the same attachment points to the chassis, why would the wheelbase be different? Tell me that? That's within the rules.

"But all the rest, for example we had a completely different concept on the radiators in 2018 than Ferrari. We had completely different things, because we were not aware of what they were doing in there. And we didn't go and take pictures of the stuff."