LONDON (Reuters) – Formula One’s governing body said on Friday it had reached a settlement with Ferrari after technical investigations into the team’s 2019 power unit.
Details of the agreement were kept private but the governing FIA said both parties had agreed to “a number of technical commitments”.
It said these would improve monitoring of all Formula One power units in future and “assist the FIA in other regulatory duties in Formula One and in its research activities on carbon emissions and sustainable fuels.”
Ferrari’s engine was the subject of much speculation last year, with rivals suspecting the team were circumventing fuel flow sensors to gain performance.
They had started the season as early favorites after impressive times in testing and a clear straight line speed advantage.
The performance appeared to tail off, however, after the FIA issued several technical directives concerning fuel flow sensors later in the year.
The team denied anything untoward, with principal Mattia Binotto saying in December they had been one of the most checked teams on the grid.
“We have never changed our way of operating the engine for the last part of the season,” he said.
Ferrari finished runners-up to Mercedes last year, with three race wins.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
