When Is A Hole Not A Hole

[The Rumble Strip]

When it's on a Red Bull.

Given the latest decision handed down by the FIA, declaring the Red Bull floor as illegal, you have to wonder how this will materially affect their season.

Perhaps more curiously, how can a floor be declared illegal now when it was supposedly legal earlier in the season and similarly, how can it be illegal and other teams are not when they run similar systems.

[Gary]

There's a hole in the floor,
Dear Dietrich, dear Dietrich.
There's a hole in the floor.
Dear Dietrich, a hole...

[solarflare]

[Ash]

It could be argued that these grey areas in interpretation offer scope for imaginative bending of the rules that might be described as 'innovation'. If you get caught you have to change it, but no penalty for trying.

I'm not saying that I'm arguing this case, but some might.

OTOH, perhaps the FIA should have a clearer idea of its own rules, and the ability to implement them without the other teams having to risk the costs and political fall-out involved in making a formal complaint.

[White Lightning]

What bugs me about this decision is that the floor was hardly a world-beating, double diffuser-type innovation...

Stop stifling creativity.

[The Rumble Strip]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having imaginative interpretation of the rules, after all that is partly what F1 is built on, the ability to compete and be better than your rivals.

However, in recent years there seems to be a trend to ban anything once a team appears to be getting an advantage out of it. We've seen it with double diffusers, off blown throttles and now this latest hole in the floor episode.

The main culprits, if you like, as regards protests to be constantly heard against appear to be the Red Bull team, presumably because they are the current cutting edge of technology.

It seems to me though that there is a culture in the sport whereby if one team has something and it seems to work for them, rival teams throw their toys out of the pram and attempt to destabilse their efforts.

Again, this is all in the name of competition but there has to come a point where clear interpretation is needed. I'm not sure that the try until it is protested route is good enough.

[Ash]

[White Lightning]

[Editor]

[xynaria]

How on earth do any innovations ever come about at all when it's this ludicrous........seriously. What innovations have actually occurred and gone on to be allowed till further than the end of the season in say the last ten years????????
_________________
it'll all end in tears..........cool!

[Red Baron]

Whats wrong with a bit of ventilation? ...plus if they have to take a leak it's better out of the car than in it

[Kennywinnit]

[Senna_MP4/4]

I would be hugely disappointed if, come the end of the season and a red bull is leading the championship and stripped of these wins, it isn't fair to leave it till the end and again bring this sport into disrepute.

[Anfield5]

[Carsten B]