Diffusers ruled legal by the International Court of Appeal

[Julian Mayo]

If that is the case F1, and the FIA, are running out of ways to make fools of themselves, surely? There can't be any footspace left for bulletholes.
The FIA deems a body part illegal, then sits on it's hands while it is used in the first 2 races of the season.......................tho' on reflection I would not be at all surprised.

I just wonder why it's taking so long for them to make a decision; then again, they're probably looking for a reason to overturn the stewards' decision on the legality of the diffusers just so they can make Ferrari and McLaren happy. FWIW, I hope the FIA tells them the diffusers are legal and then tells them to go pound sand.

Make McLaren happy ???? Max????.................................(Ahah moment )
Yup, then strip McLaren and Hambone of all points and send Hambone, but not Heiki to the back of the grid in China for telling fibs..............

[mlittle]

If that is the case F1, and the FIA, are running out of ways to make fools of themselves, surely? There can't be any footspace left for bulletholes.
The FIA deems a body part illegal, then sits on it's hands while it is used in the first 2 races of the season.......................tho' on reflection I would not be at all surprised.

I just wonder why it's taking so long for them to make a decision; then again, they're probably looking for a reason to overturn the stewards' decision on the legality of the diffusers just so they can make Ferrari and McLaren happy. FWIW, I hope the FIA tells them the diffusers are legal and then tells them to go pound sand.

Make McLaren happy ???? Max????.................................(Ahah moment )
Yup, then strip McLaren and Hambone of all points and send Hambone, but not Heiki to the back of the grid in China for telling fibs..............

Or Hambone could head 'cross the Atlantic......who knows; maybe there's a couple of spare Dallaras' for him at the Brickyard w/TG's signature on them(a subtle "bleep-bleep" to the Dwarf & Co.,........ )

[Julian Mayo]

I just wonder why it's taking so long for them to make a decision; then again, they're probably looking for a reason to overturn the stewards' decision on the legality of the diffusers just so they can make Ferrari and McLaren happy. FWIW, I hope the FIA tells them the diffusers are legal and then tells them to go pound sand.

Make McLaren happy ???? Max????.................................(Ahah moment )
Yup, then strip McLaren and Hambone of all points and send Hambone, but not Heiki to the back of the grid in China for telling fibs..............

Or Hambone could head 'cross the Atlantic......who knows; maybe there's a couple of spare Dallaras' for him at the Brickyard w/TG's signature on them(a subtle "bleep-bleep" to the Dwarf & Co.,........ )

He would do well to leave his Father behind if he does

[JayVee]

It is reported from the court hearing that Renault already requested clarification on the diffuser in the middle of last year and the FIA deemed it illegal!

More: Renault ready to use new diffuser - lawyer

This is crazy

No wonder Briatore was so angry in the preseason. Whatever decision they make, I hope it is reasonable as I certainly don't want to see points taken off from the diffuser teams (even though that would put Alonso in the lead I think!!)

It would be interesting if they declare them illegal and the diffuser teams would not be allowed to use them in China then they will be in real trouble !!

The good news for me is that if they are declared legal, it seems that Renault are the most ready to deploy and that would be great for Alonso, KERS + double diffuser

I am amazed at how the relationship between Ferrari and Brawn is going downhill fast!!

[JayVee]

He would do well to leave his Father behind if he does

[Julian Mayo]

I am not 100% sure on the technical aspects, it seems that it is the hole in front of the diffuser double plates which contravenes the regs. If this is so it might not be too hard for the double diffuser teams to adapt the appendage, so to speak. Or to put it another war, plug part of the hole in the backside.........
and alter the airflow over the diffusers.....................

[Ed]

The verdict on the diffuser issue is set to be announced in a few hours.
Here is more on what happened during the hearing on Tuesday:

FIA set to announce diffuser verdict

[Julian Mayo]

The verdict on the diffuser issue is set to be announced in a few hours.
Here is more on what happened during the hearing on Tuesday:

FIA set to announce diffuser verdict

Well, if one of the senior judges fell asleep more than once, (and I have spent many hours a day in courtrooms), I would suggest to you, my learned friends, that the verdict was in long before the court sat.....................
Max must be highly amused, watching FOTA tear itself apart, because, while once again F1 is seen to be the playground of rich fools by the general public, he simply cares only about his own badly damaged ego, besting Bernie, reigning supreme over the entrants, and bugga the rest of us.

[Ed]

The diffusers are legal, the International Court of Appeal has ruled.

A statement by the FIA read:

International Court of Appeal - Decision 15/04/2009
The FIA International Court of Appeal has decided to deny the appeals submitted against decisions numbered 16 to 24 taken by the Panel of the Stewards on 26 March at the 2009 Grand Prix of Australia and counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Based on the arguments heard and evidence before it, the Court has concluded that the Stewards were correct to find that the cars in question comply with the applicable regulations.

Full reasons for this decision will be provided in due course.

[Ed]

Toyota Racing team issued a statement that read:

Toyota Motorsport is pleased to hear the FIA International Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the Australian Grand Prix stewards concerning the rear diffuser on our car.

As we have maintained throughout, our team studied the wording of the new 2009 regulations in precise detail to ensure we interpreted them correctly.

We also made full use of the consultation procedure with the FIA which was a helpful process to ensure our interpretation of the technical regulations was correct.

Therefore we had every confidence that the design of our car would be confirmed as legal, firstly by race stewards in Australia and Malaysia and subsequently by the Court of Appeal.

Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina said: "I was confident the Court of Appeal would reach this verdict and I am satisfied with it. It is important to stress we studied the technical regulations in precise detail, consulting the FIA in our process, and never doubted our car complied with them. This has been a challenging period for Formula 1 and I am pleased this issue is now in the past and we can focus on an exciting season on the track."

[Julian Mayo]

The diffusers are legal, the International Court of Appeal has ruled.

A statement by the FIA read:

International Court of Appeal - Decision 15/04/2009
The FIA International Court of Appeal has decided to deny the appeals submitted against decisions numbered 16 to 24 taken by the Panel of the Stewards on 26 March at the 2009 Grand Prix of Australia and counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Based on the arguments heard and evidence before it, the Court has concluded that the Stewards were correct to find that the cars in question comply with the applicable regulations.

Full reasons for this decision will be provided in due course.

Max Mosely told Briatore before the current cars were completed that the design was illegal.........that is a fact, see any blog, Renaults website, BBC motrsport archives.et al.
Now his minions say it is legal.
I am disgusted by the transparent manipulation by the FIA and Max, and I will not be treated as a fool by a degenerate.
I intend to go onto the FIA site and squeak as loudly as possible, if enough people squeak it becomes a roar.

[Ed]

Statement from Ferrari

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has taken note of the ICA’s decision to reject the appeal placed by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro together with the ING Renault F1 Team, Red Bull Racing and the BMW Sauber F1 Team regarding the conformity of three single-seaters to the Technical Regulations.

“We are waiting to hear the reasons the ICA rejected the appeal,” said Stefano Domenicali the Scuderia’s Team Principal. “Unfortunately this decision forces us to intervene on fundamental areas of the car’s design in order to be able to compete on an equal footing with some of the teams from a point of view of the technical regulations, and that will take time and money. We will now double our efforts to get the team back to the highest level of competitivity.”

[Ed]

STATEMENT FROM THE BRAWN GP TEAM

Following the hearing in Paris on Tuesday 14 April, the International Court of Appeal today confirmed that the Brawn GP team's BGP 001 car is fully compliant with the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations.

Brawn GP Team Principal Ross Brawn said: "We are pleased with the decision reached by the International Court of Appeal today. We respect the right of our competitors to query any design or concept used on our cars through the channels available to them. The FIA Technical Department, the Stewards at the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix and now five judges at the International Court of Appeal have confirmed our belief that our cars have always strictly complied with the 2009 Technical Regulations. The decision of the International Court of Appeal brings this matter to its conclusion and we look forward to continuing on the track the challenge of what has been a very exciting start to the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship."

[Ed]

The anti-diffuser teams have reluctantly accepted the ICA's decision but indicated that it will take them a long time and a lot of money to become on par with the diffuser teams.

More: Anti-diffuser teams accept FIA ruling
No quick fix to catch diffuser teams - rivals

[Lloyd]

While Renault and Red Bull were both told similar designs were illegal, I fancy that as usual politics has clouded the issue.
No doubt having 3 relatively unsuccessful teams experiencing a performance advantage at the expense of the established order has made the interest in F1 greater of late and having 1 of those teams (Toyota) making noises about leaving if they don't have success.
I can only cynically surmise that the FIA (Max) have decided that it is safer to leave it as it is and let the others recover and in the interim let Brawn, Williams & Toyota enjoy some of the spoils.