F1 | Mercedes and Red Bull's war against Ferrari continues: clarification requested on the regularity of the mirrors and batteries of the SF71H

The performances shown by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at the start of the season have aroused more than a few suspicions among the top teams. Despite the FIA's reassurances, in fact, Red Bull and Mercedes would have raised doubts about some components of the SF71H, including the mirrors, the batteries and the power unit's fuel system. However, let's go in order, starting from the hottest point that has emerged in recent days, namely the fuel system.

According to some British media, Ferrari would still use oil to "vitamize" the fuel, gaining horsepower on the power unit front. An extremely effective system that would allow Vettel and Raikkonen to exploit extra horsepower during the various qualifying sessions. It's no secret that the SF71H has the best power unit of the lot, perhaps even superior to Mercedes, and according to some experts the explanation for this improvement lies in the use of oil.

The Federation, without mentioning the teams directly involved (also because the system studied by the Scuderia di Maranello has successfully passed the checks of the commissioners. ed.), issued a press release precisely with the intention of responding to these indiscretions, closing once and for all this regulatory "hole". From the next GP, in fact, any oil topping up during the various qualifying sessions will be prohibited.

This rule, according to Nicholas Tombazis, should push the teams to avoid any exploitation of lubricating liquids, erasing once and for all the phenomenon of the "vitamization" of fuels (the FIA, remember, had already introduced the rule of maximum consumption of 0,6 kg per 100 kilometres, precisely after the Spa GP last season, but it seems that the result was not the one hoped for. Ed.). The second controversy, sparked just yesterday, concerns the layout of the batteries.

Mercedes, in fact, would have raised some doubts about the design of the SF71H's battery pack, putting forward the hypothesis that Ferrari would be able to generate a quantity of energy greater than the 4 megajoules required by the sporting regulations. Even in this case, however, the FIA ​​labeled these rumors as "nonsense", underlining how the SF71H falls within all the parameters imposed by the regulations studied by the Federation.

The real news, however, concerns the small controversy sparked by Red Bull during the Baku GP: Adrian Newey, in fact, would have asked for clarification regarding the studied mirrors of Vettel and Raikkonen's car, designed with a rather particular shape to reduce the resistance to advancement.

The solution seems to have given numerous benefits, especially on the long straights of Baku, and precisely in this sense the Austrian team would have asked Tombazis for clarification. No response has been received from the technical body of the FIA, a sign that the staff of the Greek engineer is evaluating in detail the validity of this solution.

Further news is expected before the next Spanish Grand Prix.