Racing Point withdraws appeal against 15-point deduction

Racing Point driver Lance Stroll of Canada steers his car during the second practice session for the British Formula One Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 31, 2020. (Bryn Lennon/Pool via AP)

MONZA, Italy — Racing Point has dropped an appeal against a 400,000 euro ($470,000) fine and 15 docked points for copying a Mercedes design for its brake ducts.

The stewards ruled last month that Mercedes was the "principal designer'' of the parts, designed for the championship-winning 2019 car, and Racing Point made only minor changes to computer design data it received from Mercedes.

Racing Point argued it was merely using information about the Mercedes parts to inform its own design but announced at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday that it was withdrawing its appeal.

"We welcome the resolution the teams have agreed, and we're pleased the FIA has provided much-needed clarification of the rules on listed and non-listed parts,'' it said in a statement.

"The stewards and all parties involved in the appeals process recognize that there was a lack of clarity in the regulations and that we did not deliberately break them. Now that the ambiguity around the regulations has been settled, we have decided to withdraw our appeal in the wider interests of the sport.''

Racing Point, fourth in the constructors' championship, are allowed to continue to use the offending brake ducts this season.

Last month, Renault, which first protested the Racing Point car at the season-opening race in Austria, withdrew its appeal against the FIA's punishment and Ferrari did the same on Sunday. Both McLaren and Williams also decided against a formal challenge.

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