Mercedes and Red Bull could do without FRIC in Germany

The potential ban of interconnected front and rear suspension systems (FRIC, in English) is on everyone’s lips since the FIA sent a technical directive to all teams indicating the probable illegality of the device.

Mercedes and Red Bull without FRIC at Hockenheim?

If the ban on the device is not yet finalized, few stakeholders in the discipline are expressing an optimistic outlook. Indeed, unanimous agreement from the teams would be needed to postpone the prohibition of the FRIC to 2015. However, the development differences between the structures and divergent interests make this option more than shaky.

Moreover, the two teams leading the constructors’ standings – Mercedes and Red Bull – have reportedly already decided to do without interconnected suspensions in Germany, without waiting for the final decision. This is at least what Michael Schmidt, F1 specialist for Auto Motor und Sport, reveals.

If all teams seem to have a system based on the same concept – namely, connecting the front and rear suspensions to maintain optimal ride height – the two mentioned above may have developed the most advanced and complex systems.

Niki Lauda, the non-executive director of Mercedes, was surprised by such a turnaround but confirmed that his team would not take risks: « The system has been used for two and a half years and all technical inspections have proceeded without objection. So it is difficult to understand why, suddenly, the perspective has changed. We no longer want to invest in something that goes against the rules. We want to know if it is legal or illegal. »

McLaren is not afraid of the FRIC ban

On the McLaren side, Eric Boullier, the racing director, welcomed the technical directive from the authorities unexpectedly: “It came as a total surprise. It wasn’t based on the action of a team, it was an action by the FIA,” he told *Autosport*. “We were warned this weekend that something might happen, and then we received this technical directive.”

If he believes that interconnected suspensions have become more common in the paddock, he does not forget to point out that some structures have gone further: « I think most teams, if not all teams on the grid, use this type of system, which better connects the dynamics of the vehicle. Some teams may have been extreme [in their design of the FRIC], which may be why the FIA is questioning the legality of the system. »

« In the case of McLaren, we are quite calm. We don’t see any problem with that for us, » he assures. « I don’t think it will be too disruptive for the rest of the season. We don’t like it when there’s a technical change during the year, but maybe there’s a reason why the FIA wants to do that. »

For McLaren, everything is fine, but for others… « Perhaps two teams have gone far and could potentially have difficulty reverting to a non-connected system, but for the majority of teams, I think it won’t change much. »

Bottas not worried, Chilton reassured

Valtteri Bottas, questioned on this issue by our British colleagues from ESPN F1, is on a similar line: « Yes! Maybe some teams will be more affected than us. [It’s a problem] for some teams, but not for others. We will see, I don’t really know what’s going on, we will see. Whatever the decision, we will agree, I don’t think it’s going to be the key to the season or something like that. »

For Sky Sports, Max Chilton shared his thoughts, which do not really differ from those of Boullier and Bottas: « I’ve heard that Mercedes’ system is very complex, so it might affect them more. »

Marussia ran without the FRIC system on Wednesday, like Sauber F1: « We had new parts to remove because the FRIC system is under investigation and we thought we needed to try the car and see what we could do in case… We made a lot of setup changes and I think we learned a lot. »

« It wasn’t as bad as I thought. It will depend on the circuit. At Silverstone, it didn’t seem to weigh much on the car’s balance and by the end of the day, we were back to where we were, so in fact, it was quite encouraging, » he concluded.