Official: FIA declares double diffusers legal

The FIA Court of Appeal met yesterday in Paris to study the appeal of Ferrari, Red Bull, and Renault following the decision made by the stewards’ sporting committee in Melbourne on March 26th. These three teams had lodged protests and contended that Brawn GP, Toyota, and Williams were not complying with the 2009 technical regulations.

The court of appeal announced today that the incriminated cars were legal and that the results of the first two races of the season were therefore confirmed.

As a reminder, the dispute that has been much talked about since the beginning of the season was particularly about the design of the diffuser of Brawn GP, Williams, and Toyota. On the Thursday before the Australian Grand Prix, the stewards had rejected the protests filed by the complaining teams. These teams then immediately decided to appeal the decision.

Now that the doubt about the legality of this part has been removed, it is highly likely that most teams will quickly introduce significant modifications to their car to adapt this type of diffuser.

« The FIA International Court of Appeal has decided to reject the appeal against decisions number 16 to 24 made by the technical stewards’ committee on March 26 at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula 1 World Championship » as stated in a declaration published by the FIA this morning.

« Based on the arguments heard and the evidence previously presented, the court concluded that the commissioners were fair in their judgment of declaring the cars in question compliant with technical regulations. »

« All the details about this decision will be provided in due course, » the statement concluded.