Blown diffusers banned from Silverstone, prohibited in 2012

The FIA had announced it during the Canadian Grand Prix, and it is now official: Blown diffusers will be significantly restricted starting from Silverstone and banned from next year.

The F1 technical working group met yesterday to discuss this issue and the measures implemented.

Specifically, from the British Grand Prix onwards, the throttle opening cannot exceed 10% when drivers are not accelerating. The goal is obviously to minimize the effect of the blown diffuser without affecting the design of the cars.

From next season, this system will be banned. The exhausts must mandatorily exit towards the top of the engine hood as was already the case a few years ago.

This measure could reshuffle the deck and somewhat tighten the hierarchy. The teams most penalized should be Red Bull and Lotus Renault GP. At McLaren, this ban seems to be good news since Martin Whitmarsh stated that the gap separating the MP4-26 from the RB7 in qualifying could be reduced by five tenths.

Enough to reignite the championship? We’ll find out on July 10th.