Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Brawn: We've been told our car is legal

Tuesday 14th April 2009

Ross Brawn is confident the diffuser three will win their day in court on Tuesday as Formula One steels itself for another major off-track showdown.

Ferrari, Renault, BMW Sauber and Red Bull face Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota at an International Court of Appeal hearing in Paris many feel could determine the destiny of this year's Championships.

At the heart of the matter is the conceptual design of the diffuser - an aerodynamic body part which aids performance - at the rear of the cars belonging to the three defendants.

Their rivals believe their interpretation contravenes the technical regulations, and as such should be deemed illegal.

Potentially at stake are the results of the races in Australia and Malaysia where Jenson Button emerged victorious in both, and with Brawn GP leading Toyota in the Constructors' Standings.

It is a difficult case for the judges to preside over as the FIA and the stewards in Melbourne and Sepang have already deemed the part is legal.

The four offended teams protested the stewards' ruling, and it is now up to the ICA to determine whether the stewards in question were correct in their assessment or not.

If they side in favour of Ferrari, Renault, BMW Sauber and Red Bull, they have it in their power to overturn the results of the two previous races.

Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams would also quickly have to re-design that part of the car to fall in line with the others, with the next race in China a few days away.

If they agree with the diffuser three it would force the seven remaining teams into playing catch up because as has been witnessed there is a clear performance difference.

Brawn, though, is convinced the judges will ultimately agree with the stewards, with a verdict due on Wednesday.

"The stewards have said it is legal," stated Brawn.

"It's the International Court of Appeal that is going to hear whether the stewards have made an incorrect decision.

"Some teams are unhappy with that decision, but it (the diffuser on his team's cars) is in line with our understanding.

"You have to see how these things go, but even if they decide there is a different interpretation, I don't think they'll wipe out what went before because we've been told our car is legal."

One of the main complaints centres around cost because if Ferrari et al do lose, they will be forced into a radical re-design of their cars as the diffuser affects a number of areas.

"I think some teams will be able to do it very quickly, but for other teams it will be more difficult because of their suspension configuration or other elements of the car," added Brawn.

"Some teams will have this concept by the European season if not before. There are cars able to accommodate it quite easily.

"But that is why it has become such a strong point; that it is a conceptual thing, the way you do the gearbox, the suspension, and some teams have realised that it's quite difficult to do.

"I've heard several of them complaining about the cost of doing that, and they shouldn't have to have that cost.

"But there are lots of things teams copy from each other and the cost doesn't get debated.

"If we saw someone with a fantastic rear wing we hadn't thought of, we'd go off and make them - that is the nature of F1."

The fear among some drivers - notably former world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso have aired their grievances - is that the title will be won and lost in a court room.

Alonso said: "The Championship could be more or less decided.

"If the diffusers are legal, then the Brawns are going to be nearly unreachable for any other team."

Raikkonen added: "The FIA's Court of Appeal will decide about the diffuser, and this decision will have an enormous impact on the Championship."

Source : Planet F1

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