The FIA does not control the observance of the summer break
There were rumors about non-compliance with the rules, is it so?
The mandatory summer break has been fixed in the regulations since 2014.
During this period, any work related to the car is prohibited – design work, production of parts, wind tunnel, CFD computers are stopped. Teams can't even buy airline tickets for the team or book hotels.
Building maintenance and accounting services remain at the bases, the rest go on vacation. At the same time, external work is allowed – improvement of infrastructure, construction continues, completion of engineering structures, including a wind tunnel.
It is the responsibility of the FIA to monitor compliance with the rules, but in this case the FIA counts on the goodwill of the teams.
The manager of one of the teams, on condition of anonymity, told Speedweek reporters:
"I have doubts that all the teams thoroughly comply with all the restrictions of the summer break. Even if the FIA carried out inspections at the bases, they would not be able to control what employees are working on at home.
But any deception is fraught with great risk. The greatest danger is the so-called "informants". Employees often move from team to team, among them there may be someone who is able to pawn his former team. Or there may be a leak from third-party companies that work for different racing teams. Potential whistleblowers are the FIA's best guarantee that teams will comply with the rules”.
