Ferrari reveals concern over ex-Mercedes role at FIA after Canadian GP

Mercedes is once again at the center of a Formula 1 controversy. After the discussions involving the request for an intervention of the International Automobile Federation in the porpoising, now the ball of the moment is a second rope that the German team put on the floor overnight. And Ferrari suspects that Shaila-Ann Rao, former German team official and current FIA General Secretary for Sport, may be passing information to her former teammates.

"This is a question I was also asked in Baku at the press conference, and I can only repeat what I said at the time: it is a concern, no doubt. But I also have full confidence in the FIA that they will prove that obviously she is a professional, an advocate and has integrity. I have confidence for the future that they will prove that I should not worry," said Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto during the Canadian GP.

A lawyer, Rao arrived at the FIA to replace Peter Bayer on an interim basis earlier this month, which has already put Ferrari and Red Bull, Mercedes' main rivals, on notice. The fact that the German team installed a new feature overnight in Montreal shortly after the publication of a new technical guideline has increased suspicions that the team already knew about the regulation before it became public.

"Toto [Wolff] said they did it overnight. What I can say is that Ferrari would not be able to do that. And, without a doubt, I'm surprised that a team is able to do that overnight. We can only trust what he is saying," Binotto said.

Who was also surprised with Mercedes' agility to install the component that helps to avoid the car's clicking was Helmut Marko, Red Bull's consultant. The Austrian was direct in saying that there was no time to produce a new part and that he believed in Shaila-Ann's influence. "Otherwise, you have no way to explain what happened," Marko criticized.

Formula One returns on July 3 for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with complete coverage by GRANDE PRÊMIO.