Below you will find an Interview between Ted Kravitz and Rubens discussing the BGP001 and that the diffuser is not the only determining factor for the BGP001's fast pace. Unfortunately due to the BBC's international policy the video is only available for UK viewers :(
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8004100.stm
As all Brawn GP fans thought would happen the diffusers have been given the thumbs up by the court of appeal.
A statement issued by the FIA on Wednesday morning said: "The FIA International Court of Appeal has decided to deny the appeals submitted against decisions numbered 16 to 24 taken by the Panel of the Stewards on 26 March at the 2009 Grand Prix of Australia and counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.
"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."
This means that BGP keep all points currently awarded and can look forward to China with the prospect of our full package still intact. The other 7 teams will now have to catch up and i'm sure a big proportion of the teams will come armed with a new design diffuser this weekend with a full update ready for Barcelona.
The diffuser row has led to confrontations between the teams – with Brawn GP team principal Ross Brawn being on the receiving end of attacks from Renault and Ferrari about his use of the diffuser concept. Ross stood firm in his belief that the design was legal – and confirmed recently that he offered rivals the chance to close off the regulations to prevent teams exploiting the diffuser designs, but they rejected the opportunity.
"In March 2008 that was offered," said Brawn, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the matter.
"If I'm frank I didn't say 'look we are going to do this diffuser if you don't accept this rule' because I'm not going to tell people what we're doing, but I explained that I felt that we should have a different set of rules to simplify what needs to be done.
"I offered them and they were rejected, so my conscience is very clear. And those rules that I put on the table would have stopped a lot of things. It would have stopped the diffuser, it would have stopped all those bargeboards around the front, and it would have cleaned the cars up.
"Because it was clear that when we started to work on the regulations that there were things that you could do, and we needed to perhaps clean them up, but nobody was interested. They are interested now."
For weeks speculation concerning the rear end aero of the Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota cars have been causing a stir around the paddock. The diffuser has been the central focus of the argument and its effect on downforce (claimed to be an extra 20% by many) It is not only the diffuser that makes the downforce but the way the floor and forward leading aero has also been developed on the cars in question. These teams found a loophole in the regulations that allowed slots in the floor to feed a seperate channel in the diffuser to create the extra downforce. This in turn will not only help these teams corner faster but will help with tyre degredation. The FIA have a tough task at hand as the cars have already passed through scrutineering at both Melbourne and Sepang succesfully. By definition it appears that the teams are within the letter of the law, but some of the other teams still cry foul play claiming that the diffuser/floor designs are not within 'the spirit' of the rules. I have to say that the spirit of the rules to me cannot exist? If it's not written down does that mean it can still be applied? Perhaps Bernie's medal system is still in existance as its within the spirit of the rules? Perhaps these teams believe in Santa Claus or Ghosts? When they refer to the 'spirit of the rules' they are saying that amongst the teams/FIA there is an unwritten code that prohibits designs that cause a detrimental effect to other teams. Perhaps Michael Schumacher should have been banned from driving under the 'spirit of the rules' then. One way or another someone will be drastically out of pocket and i'm sure if not this season the gaps in the rules will be tidied up for next year. If BGP, Williams and Toyota are allowed to continue with the Diffuser and the others have to catch several seem to have adapted designs ready for China but the others will be playing catchup. On the other hand BGP, Williams and Toyota could be told to remove them which would also be a costly exercise unless they have pre thought this scenario and developed another solution (I believe BGP have).
As soon as I hear the news, I will post here.
The diffuser situation is going to rage on until the hearing on the 14th but reports are that another team will join the other 3 teams in Sepang to bring into question the design of the diffusers seen on the Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota cars. Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull Racing all lodged complaints against BGP, Williams and Toyota over the legality of the rear end design of the car, namely the crash structure and diffuser. Ferrari, Renault and RBR believe that the diffusers break the regulations as they form what is being classed as a double decker diffuser. BMW couldn't make their complaint stand at Melbourne under a technicality and so are assumed to be the other team joining the row. I ask though why are Torro Rosso not complaining? You would have thought as sister team to RBR they would be encouraged to throw their weight behind the situation too. However think about how the RBR and Torro Rosso designs differ and should the hearing go in favour of Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota the Torro Rosso team would seem to be able to impliment the diffuser arrangement more easily than RBR.
What's all this diffuser nonsense about I hear you say, well I'll try to explain. The regulations for this year are obviously somewhat different to last and so those clever technical guys back at the factories have been busy trying their best to claw back some if not all/more of the previous years aero advantages. Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota are coming under fire now that the other teams have seen their designs in regards to the rear diffusers. Well firstly lets clear up the matter that it's not actually the diffusers that are causing the issue. All 3 teams diffusers are within the regulations dimensions and rules, It's the parts around them that are forming part of the diffuser arrangement that is causing the controversy. The flat floor of the car can no longer meet the diffuser (as this would give a tremendous amount more downforce) instead the floor has been channeled just above the diffuser into a 'downforce funnel' which is giving around a 10% downforce yeild that wouldn't be available without the funnel. The 'downforce funnel' is being produced by a grey area in the rules which allows for the rear crash structure to be designed in such a way that the above teams have manipulated to meet with the diffuser.
In the picture above (Taken from http://www.autosport.com/ and originally illustrated by Craig Scarborough) You can see how the diffuser is designed. The red line is the extremity to which the 'diffuser' can be designed. The blue section which I have added is the 'downforce funnel' I refer to and is formed by the crash structure meeting with the diffuser and being fed by the floor aero.
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