This Racing Point issue and the way it has unravelled is exactly the sort of nonsense governance that gradually turns people off the sport.
If they had used the part last year and this year, it wouldn't have been deemed illegal. Due to a small change in the components in a list in the rules, it's deemed illegal now but only because they didn't use it last year, even though they bought it last year when it was legal to do so for that part. But despite being deemed illegal and worthy of a fine and a points deduction, they're permitted to continue using them.
If the car is seen to be a copy on a broad scale and that is not permitted, that's the conversation that needs to be had. If there isn't a suitable rule to deal with that, the rules need reviewing.
All this judgement has really done is clarified that if you previously bought in a component legally, didn't use it but it's now no longer legal to buy in, it's also not legal to use the design you bought during the period when it was legal.
Great effort all round and has done nothing to actually establish any kind of larger scale acceptability (or otherwise) of potential large scale copying of concepts, because that hasn't even been challenged.
