FIA: the exhausts of Caterham and Williams could be illegal

As often at the beginning of the season, small controversies arise here and there regarding the legality of certain systems. If last year, it was Lotus that had to revise its strategy after the ban on “reactive suspensions,” this time it is the turn of Caterham and Williams to be in the eye of the storm of the discipline’s authorities.

The cause is the exhausts of the two single-seaters that would violate the technical regulations, specifically Article 5.8 and more particularly, Article 5.8.4. Indeed, both teams have adopted a similar solution for their exhaust outlets: a sort of fin located at the exit of the exhaust pipes redirects part of the airflow towards the rear of the car. However, such use of exhaust gases has been opposed by the FIA in its regulations since the end of the 2011 season.

During the Jerez tests, the solution chosen by Caterham was already pointed out by members of certain teams. James Allison, Lotus’s technical director, was the first to light the fuse: “I have barely looked at other cars, but I saw a detail on the Caterham exhausts that I’m not sure will survive until Melbourne…” Accusations of illegality that Cyril Abiteboul, Caterham’s director, dismissed the same evening: “My understanding is that it is within the rules. We tested it last year and no one made any comments,” he stated, before adding sarcastically: “We are quite flattered that James Allison is paying attention to what’s happening with our exhausts.”

Tuesday morning, shortly after the presentation of the FW35, Mike Coughlan, the technical director of Williams F1, gave his opinion on the solution adopted by his team: « For me, [the solution of] Caterham is really not allowed, but ours is OK. If you look at ours, it’s not a single piece, it’s two pieces. We are governed by the total size of the opening and [the fact that it is] a single opening. [Our system] is a unique opening linked by a very small slot, so it’s actually two pieces. »

A facade of confidence that nevertheless remained subject to caution, as the technician was well aware of entering the gray zone of the regulations where the engineers’ interpretation might clash with that of the discipline’s authorities. The response did not take long, as a discussion took place between representatives of Williams, Caterham, and members of the FIA, during which the latter explained that they believed the system in place violated the rules. Thus, a spokesperson for Sir Frank Williams’ team explains: “The team spoke with the FIA this morning, that’s when they gave us their position. [We are now waiting] for clarifications on this point and a decision, as to whether this design will be postponed, must be made before the first race.”

Pending an official decision from the FIA, Caterham and Williams can still use this system during private testing as they are not subject to any legality rules for the cars, except for those concerning safety, since the cars must have successfully passed all the FIA crash tests.