The FIA has issued a statement regarding its settlement with Ferrari over their 2019 power units, following a unified demand from the other teams.

The FIA has responded to the demands of the seven non-Ferrari teams on Wednesday and has issued a statement of its own.

Last week, the FIA released a statement immediately prior to the end of pre-season testing, saying they had concluded their investigations into the 2019 power units used by Ferrari. The statement said a private settlement had been reached, with no further clarification.

However, the non-Ferrari teams quickly unified and demanding transparency from the governing body and the FIA have been forced to respond.

The statement says:

The FIA has conducted detailed technical analysis on the Scuderia Ferrari Power Unit as it is entitled to do for any competitor in the FIA Formula One World Championship. The extensive and thorough investigations undertaken during the 2019 season raised suspicions that the Scuderia Ferrari PU could be considered as not operating within the limits of the FIA regulations at all times. The Scuderia Ferrari firmly opposed the suspicions and reiterated that its PU always operated in compliance with the regulations.The FIA was not fully satisfied but decided that further action would not necessarily result in a conclusive case due to the complexity of the matter and the material impossibility to provide the unequivocal evidence of a breach. To avoid the negative consequences that a long litigation would entail especially in light of the uncertainty of the outcome of such litigations and in the best interest of the Championship and of its stakeholders, the FIA, in compliance with Article 4 (ii) of its Judicial and Disciplinary Rules (JDR), decided to enter into an effective and dissuasive settlement agreement with Ferrari to terminate the proceedings. This type of agreement is a legal tool recognised as an essential component of any disciplinary system and is used by many public authorities and other sport federations in the handling of disputes. The confidentiality of the terms of the settlement agreement is provided for by Article 4 (vi) of the JDR. The FIA will take all necessary action to protect the sport and its role and reputation as regulator of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

Red Bull and Mercedes have already voiced their displeasure regarding how the FIA have handled this, with Dr. Helmut Marko saying he wants Red Bull to sue for the $24 million dollars extra they would have received by finishing P2 in the Constructor’s Championship.