'Secret Mercedes info motivated Renault to withdraw Racing Point appeal'

Racing Point recently received a penalty of €400,000 and fifteen points deduction for copying the 2019 Mercedes. This was in response to a protest filed by Renault and received support from several other teams, including Ferrari. After the ruling was made, Renault decided to leave it as it is, because the goal would have been achieved. However, there appears to be another reason not to appeal: secret Mercedes information.

Faster Renault

The Italian Corrière della Sera reports that Renault waived its appeal regarding the penalty given to Racing Point. This follows contact with the Mercedes-CEO Ola Kallenius, who spoke with Renault-CEO Luca de Meo. This conversation led to the conclusion that it would be better for Formula 1 to drop the appeal.

But that's not all, because it is indirectly in the interest of Mercedes not to let this continue for too long. At the same time, Renault also wants to gain something from it, of course, and as compensation, Renault would have been offered secret Mercedes information. This would then focus on how to optimize the engine.

This automatically explains why Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon suddenly performed better than usual during the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend. The effects of that information would have been immediately visible. What's more, Mercedes' intention is to further improve its collaboration with Renault, more on a business level outside the sport.