The FIA International Court of Appeal Wednesday announced that it has upheld the decision of the FIA Stewards at the Australian Grand Prix regarding the legality of the rear diffuser on the Formula One cars of three teams – Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams. The FIA Scrutineers had found the diffusers legal on Thursday of the AGP weekend, and at 4 PM local time, after Tech had closed, several other teams protested the diffusers.
The AGP Stewards upheld the legality of the diffusers, and that decision was then protested by several F1 teams – BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault. The matter was then sent to the FIA International Court of Appeal, which heard the matter Tuesday in Paris. McLaren had said it disputed the diffuser legality and attended the hearings, but had indicated last week it would not speak.
FIA said “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.”
Toyota was the first team out of the gate to announce its pleasure with the decision. It stressed that it had “studied the technical regulations in precise detail, consulting the FIA in our process, and never doubted our car complied with them.
Among other things, this means the race results for those three teams stand – JENSON BUTTON/Brawn GP has two victories – for its driver and in the Constructor’s Championship.
The teams which don’t have the diffusers now face expensive and time-consuming development to play catch-up.
Formula One races in China this weekend.