Millions in fines for Caterham?
The Marussia team contacted the FIA to investigate a possible breach of the Concorde Agreement regulations by the Lotus Racing team, now known as Caterham F1.
Marussia has asked the FIA to investigate a possible breach of the Concorde Agreements by the Lotus Racing team in 2010 in connection with the Aerolab/Force India case. The Malaysian team was found guilty of using parts whose rights were held by the Force India team.
«We are in contact with the FIA, and we do not wish to make further comments on this matter at the moment. But we are pleased that the appropriate processes have been initiated,» stated Graeme Lowdon, the sporting director of Marussia, as quoted by Autosport.
Lotus Racing, which became Team Lotus in 2011 and then Caterham in 2012, could face significant sanctions if the FIA decides to look into the matter, as according to Graeme Lowdon, the regulations are very strict.
The rules that all teams must follow are very strict and very clear regarding the constructor status. There are certain parts that you must design yourself and you must have the rights to those parts, Lowdon told GPWeek.
The Russian team could therefore decide to attack the 1 Malaysia UK company, which owned Lotus Racing, Team Lotus, and now Caterham F1, and thus request its disqualification from the 2010 championship, possibly 2011 as well – which could force the team to repay the earnings from the 10th place along with potential financial penalties.
But according to several British publications, for the moment, the matter has not yet been initiated by the FIA, the governing body prefers to wait for another related judicial case being handled by the Bologna prosecutor’s office in Italy.
