Ferrari criticizes tight deadline of FIA's floor technical directive
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The FIA’s directive reached teams on Friday, November 15, just six days before the first practice session for the Las Vegas GP. The directive required seven teams—Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Haas, Sauber, and Alpine—to modify the mounting bolts arrangement of the skid blocks under their cars. Specifically, teams were instructed to remove the protective elements around the skid blocks at the rear of the floor.
This caused frustration for Ferrari, as team principal Frédéric Vasseur pointed out that the FIA had initially approved their designs earlier in the season. “We submitted drawings of the skid blocks and received the FIA's green light,” the French manager lamented.
Red Bull's Proactive Move Amid Concerns
While Ferrari saw the directive as a mid-season rule change, Red Bull maintained that the rules were always clear. According to them, a close reading of the regulations indicated that protective skid elements were illegal from the outset, even if the FIA initially interpreted the rules differently.
Fearing a potential protest from McLaren, Red Bull proactively sought clarification from the FIA. The reigning champions were concerned that McLaren, which had never adopted these skid protections, might protest and trigger the disqualification of all cars using the now-deemed illegal parts. However, McLaren reportedly had no such intention, as they were unaware of any ambiguity in the rules.
Ferrari Criticizes Tight Deadline
Ferrari, however, was not appeased. “The lead time of just six days was extremely short,” Fred Vasseur complained. While raising the ride height slightly to comply with the directive was manageable for the SF-24, which has a broad aerodynamic operating window, the bigger issue lay in the potential wear on the unprotected mounting bolts during track contact. Excessive wear risked violating the FIA's 1-millimeter wear rule, and Ferrari lacked the testing time during free practice to ensure compliance.
For a moment, Ferrari considered ignoring the directive entirely. With written approval from the FIA earlier in the season, any protest would have had little standing to disqualify the team. Ultimately, however, Fred Vasseur decided against it to avoid further controversy amid the Constructors’ Championship battle. “We'd rather focus on ourselves. The FIA already has enough problems,” he concluded.
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