Why the FIA’s front bib trick clampdown is not going to stop team intrigue

The revelation that the FIA has moved to clamp down on a potential ride height parc ferme trick has added an intriguing twist to the Formula 1 title battle.

But while the governing body’s response to suspicions that one competitor may have been altering front bib clearance between qualifying and the race should stamp out the practice from now, the issue is unlikely to go away immediately.

The big question being asked by some squads in private is whether or not the damage has already been done, and someone has got away with doing something that they believe was clearly outside the regulations.

It is important to state firstly that, at the moment, there is no proof that any team has broken the rules. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, no squad has put its hand up and admitted that it has been up to something that it should not have.

The FIA has also been explicit that it has not “received any indication of any team employing such a system”, and one unidentified squad that has been at the focus of the allegations has ruled out it having such a device.

But feelings on the matter could become heightened if, from this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, there is a noticeable step change in the pecking order and one or more teams suddenly fall away.

In a rules era where ride height is absolutely critical to car performance, and teams have long had to battle the compromises between setting a car up for qualifying and the race, the ability to alter the front bib between Saturday and Sunday would be quite a powerful tool to help that.

The potential gains

If someone has been lifting the bib for qualifying and then dropping it for the race, losing that advantage with immediate effect should expose a step-change in performance.

Potentially altering the front bib clearance would help account for the shift in car weight between qualifying and the race, as there is a significant difference in ride height and ride quality between an empty fuel tank for qualifying and it being full for the race.

Having the front bib clearance at the perfect height for both scenarios would give an immediate advantage in terms of being able to take more kerb in qualifying, as there would be no fear of damaging the floor and plank.

It would also ensure that the aero platform was as optimised as possible, which would then have tangible benefits of helping ensure the tyres are in the right operating window.

Cars under covers in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

There could be help too in all of this allowing a team to run much closer to the optimum minimum tyre pressures, without having to sacrifice ride quality through suspension settings.

If you cannot change the bib height, as the regulations state, then teams have to find the best compromise between their ride heights and angles for qualifying and the race – going as low as they dare for both low and high fuel without risking going too far and damaging the plank.

The prospect of a review

Should this weekend deliver a scenario where a team appears to have taken a step back, then that will likely ramp up feelings from its rivals that perhaps the FIA should dig a bit deeper into what has happened up until this moment.

However, while there would likely be calls for some retrospective action to be taken if it can be confirmed that someone had been breaking the rules like this, the difficulty may be in ever having enough proof to take the matter further.

It is understood that all teams have ways to adjust the front bib clearance height on their cars, as it is a standard set-up tool. So the existence of a device in a car’s cockpit to change those settings is not relevant to pushing the matter over the line.

The key however is in understanding whether or not a team has altered the settings under parc ferme conditions between qualifying and the race, which is outside the rules.

That is why the FIA is introducing some procedural changes, which could include the use of seals on the devices used by teams to change the bib clearance, to ensure that these settings remain fixed from now on.

A modern-day Option 13 scenario?

Johnny Herbert, Benetton B194 Ford

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The issue of the matter being about whether a team secretly changed settings means it will be virtually impossible for the FIA to go back and find out whether or not anyone played some tricks at previous races.

One F1 source has suggested that this is a similar scenario to what happened with Benetton in 1994 over suspicions it was running a form of illegal launch control.

Analysis of its source code by the FIA revealed that its car software had a hidden menu where, if Option 13 was selected, launch control would be activated.

However, despite the governing body looking deep into the matter, no evidence could be found that it had ever been used in a race, so action over it was not possible.

Amid the current tech controversy, a team having a device in its cockpit that would allow it to change bib clearance is not a smoking gun that it broke the rules.

For a breach to happen, there would have to be unquestionable evidence that the settings were altered between qualifying and the race, something that would be nigh on impossible to go back and prove.

As of now, the FIA says it ‘remains vigilant’ on the matter in ensuring teams comply with the regulations, but there could be some increased pressure to review things a bit more if this weekend’s race in Austin throws up some surprises at the front.