17 August, 2020
by: Paul Velasco
Colin Kolles has kicked the hornet’s nest with claiming that it would be impossible for Racing Point to have built the handy RP20 by simply copying the Mercedes W10 from photographs and taking a swipe at Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff by questioning his motives.
Racing Point was protested by Renault, upon which the FIA ruled that brake-ducts used this season on the RP20 were not a listed part, one that requires teams to design the components inhouse.
Otmar Szafnauer admitted that their technical team did actually copy the title-winning Mercedes of last year, but are adamant the did so within the realms of the regulations and thus have appealed the fine and 15 points docked by the FIA.
A qualified dentist by trade who has also run F1 and WEC teams, Kolles was speaking during a Sport1 TV talk show when asked about the process of designing an F1 car from concept to rollout.
“There is no way you can copy a car from photos. It’s not only the brake ducts, it’s also about the entire concept. I was told they were given access to a 60% wind-tunnel model and an F1 show car as a blueprint, from this the parts were scanned and converted to CAD,” he explained.
“It would not work any other way,” insisted Kolles, who has previously crossed swords with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, when in 2013 he taped a conversation between the pair and threatened to expose explosive comments made by the Austrian.
They reportedly settled their dispute with intervention by Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, while Mercedes obtained a court order preventing the publication of the details of the conversation.
During yesterday’s talk show, after the Spanish Grand Prix, Kolles took another swipe at his old foe Wolff, who now has a share in Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin project.
While there is no doubt the alliance between teams and their bosses have become a lot cosier since the Canadian billionaire saved Force India and launched Racing Point which, in turn, will morph into Aston Martin next year.
Kolles continued, “Basically if I were a Mercedes group board member, I would be asking why the team principal is always on vacation, on a boat or visiting Gstaad. These are among many things which, in my opinion, have not been totally compliant.
“I believe they have a very, very close connection. Although this is my own personal opinion I know I am not alone and others there are others that share this opinion too,” added Kolles, now team principal with ByKolles Racing WEC team.
Colin Kolles has kicked the hornet’s nest with claiming that it would be impossible for Racing Point to have built the handy RP20 by simply copying the Mercedes W10 from photographs and taking a swipe at Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff by questioning his motives.
Racing Point was protested by Renault, upon which the FIA ruled that brake-ducts used this season on the RP20 were not a listed part, one that requires teams to design the components inhouse.
Otmar Szafnauer admitted that their technical team did actually copy the title-winning Mercedes of last year, but are adamant the did so within the realms of the regulations and thus have appealed the fine and 15 points docked by the FIA.
A qualified dentist by trade who has also run F1 and WEC teams, Kolles was speaking during a Sport1 TV talk show when asked about the process of designing an F1 car from concept to rollout.
“There is no way you can copy a car from photos. It’s not only the brake ducts, it’s also about the entire concept. I was told they were given access to a 60% wind-tunnel model and an F1 show car as a blueprint, from this the parts were scanned and converted to CAD,” he explained.
“It would not work any other way,” insisted Kolles, who has previously crossed swords with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, when in 2013 he taped a conversation between the pair and threatened to expose explosive comments made by the Austrian.
They reportedly settled their dispute with intervention by Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, while Mercedes obtained a court order preventing the publication of the details of the conversation.
During yesterday’s talk show, after the Spanish Grand Prix, Kolles took another swipe at his old foe Wolff, who now has a share in Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin project.
While there is no doubt the alliance between teams and their bosses have become a lot cosier since the Canadian billionaire saved Force India and launched Racing Point which, in turn, will morph into Aston Martin next year.
Kolles continued, “Basically if I were a Mercedes group board member, I would be asking why the team principal is always on vacation, on a boat or visiting Gstaad. These are among many things which, in my opinion, have not been totally compliant.
“I believe they have a very, very close connection. Although this is my own personal opinion I know I am not alone and others there are others that share this opinion too,” added Kolles, now team principal with ByKolles Racing WEC team.
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