Legal or not-legal?

Come on FIA make the right decision..!

"upper edge that runs in a horizontal straight line"

In my opinion split diffuser is illegal due to the word stright (and not zig zag) but time will tell.

Still no decision

Tomorrow afternoon.

Could go either way. Either they like the mixed up grid bringing punters back, OR they side with Ferrari again because they cant win otherwise.

IF declared illegal, then another issue arises. That the stewards and FIA officials on track said it was legal and permitted the cars to race. So points cant really be docked.

I'm sure they wouldn't do anything that would put ferrari and mclaren back to the top of the standings.

If it's legal and makes such a difference they'll be all using it presumably.

publicity i think will have a massive input on this. this new season has got a masive following now, especiallyt with the grid being thown into array. in a way i hope that they say that the diffusers are legal, the racing is excellent, great start to the season. jut to much politics now. they are going to alienate viewers with all of this crap soon

Yup, which again will likely skew the grid in China.

All the complainers have them ready to go, if untested on track. If they havent, then WTF have they been doing since Melbourne?

IF declared illegal, then another issue arises. That the stewards and FIA officials on track said it was legal and permitted the cars to race. So points cant really be docked.

Totally agree with that !

Hopefully it won't be declared illegal, but now they've been allowed to start two races the points should not be docked.

If the rules are ambiguous it's the fault of the rule-makers - the teams should not be penalised so long as they haven't blatantly overstepped the mark

Well Legal it is, so I was wrong again.

I'm glad they've seen sense! I think i would of found it hard to watch it again if they'd made any other Decision......

Guessing this means a bit of development by the teams that do not currently use this type of diffuser design then

Guessing this means a bit of development by the teams that do not currently use this type of diffuser design then

Which I think will be impossible for red-bull due to their rear suspension design... I'm guessing most other teams have a design ready and waiting

The right outcome, IMHO

Great news.

agreed there, great news. its not a case of just bolting a diffuser on, its a complete redisgn of the body to work alongside it. but i very much doubt it will be long till they have them on. they would have been throwing money and man hours at this since the initial appeal

Great to hear. Especially after it has already been passed fit to race at least twice.

Which I think will be impossible for red-bull due to their rear suspension design... I'm guessing most other teams have a design ready and waiting

The right outcome, IMHO

Yup, a right decision for once!

Re Redbull, they're up there at the front and have been since last season, whilst the rest of the grid has swapped round.

I expect RB to start pulling out great quali's and podium finishes as the season goes on.

The real questions are a) how long before the others catch up, and when they do start using new diffusers, will Ferrari and Mclaren etc return to the top?

"Diffusergate Diffused" that would be my back page headline if there was any F1 coverage in the papers this year.

Glad to see innovation isnt penalised. The other teams nead to book their ideas up instead of whinging to the appeals court.

Would be funny to see the offset of costs eg - The value of legal costs and research to make a case agaisnt the "Double decker diffuser" v The cost of researching and designing a "Double decker diffuser" :P:rofl:

There is always innovation, the gotcha is being within the rules. In this case they were according to the ruling, and others may or may not follow suit now.

In any case, I'm mostly glad for the sport then anything else, as had they lost their points etc, it will be a nightmare

There is always innovation, the gotcha is being within the rules. In this case they were according to the ruling, and others may or may not follow suit now.

In any case, I'm mostly glad for the sport then anything else, as had Brawn GP lost their points etc, it would have been a PR disaster.

Re Redbull, they're up there at the front and have been since last season, whilst the rest of the grid has swapped round.

I expect RB to start pulling out great quali's and podium finishes as the season goes on.

I was thinking that as I typed, but red bull don't currently have a diffuser - perhaps they starting developing the '09 car earlier than some of the other teams.

Re. red bull rear suspension

This would be a particularly troubling situation for Red Bull' date=' whose car has been designed with a rear suspension system that makes it impossible to build a similar diffuser.

Red Bull's rear suspension operates a unique pull-rod system - where the arms pull down on the dampers, as opposed to the push-rods used by all other teams - which would require a major redesign if it was to be changed to incorporate a diffuser such as that used by Brawn, Williams and Toyota.[/quote']

The FIA really ought to make up their minds. One minute the cars are presented more or less pre-season and deemed to be within the rules and then two races down the season suddenly two competitors are outside of them. Will Toyota get some points back ? Can they/Will they appeal the decision to put them at the back of the grid ? Somehow I doubt it. I also think that if Ferrari had done something illegal, they might have got away with it. Anyhow, Jenson still leads and IMO is capable of winning the championship this year. I think Lewis has had it already as it's points based, but if it was race wins....

The FIA really ought to make up their minds. One minute the cars are presented more or less pre-season and deemed to be within the rules and then two races down the season suddenly two competitors are outside of them. Will Toyota get some points back ? Can they/Will they appeal the decision to put them at the back of the grid ? Somehow I doubt it. I also think that if Ferrari had done something illegal, they might have got away with it. Anyhow, Jenson still leads and IMO is capable of winning the championship this year. I think Lewis has had it already as it's points based, but if it was race wins....

Unfortunately, you're right I think (in that they're inconsistent) and I just wish they'd change on that and just do what they are meant to do. I guess the rules are tricky, but then thankfully I don't need to know every detail of those rules

Toyota were moved back on the grid in Australia for having too much flexiblity in the rear wings and not because of the diffuser. I read the other day that Ross Brawn had raised the diffuser issue with the FIA last year because he could see problems with the wording of the rules. The FIA didn't think there was a problem.

well Mclaren now has a split rear diffuser, and hamilton has been quickest in qualifying. Button second fastest. this could be interesting

However Button was quickest in 2nd practice........ and hamilton 13th.........

It's only practice though........ Qualy and the race are all that matter.