[QUOTE]
Press Release
International Court of Appeal
08/04/2009

The following hearing of the International Court of Appeal will take place in Paris:

Hearing

Appeals lodged by:

- OSK/

 

Tuesday the 14th, maybe as soon as noon we should be getting an answer once and for all about what is or is not going to happen with the so called illegal diffuser.

I sure hope the FiA can make a fair decision. Although I'm not a Brawn fan because they have MB engines and driver's I do not like, I do believe Ross is a genius and the fact that he may have developed an great aero trick is not a surprise. If Brawn can justify how it is legal based upon their interpretation of the rules, and the rules themselves are deemed to be at fault for not being clear enough then I would have no problem with them keeping their trick design.

The big thing I still do not like though is the three teams named in this investigation were not a part of the FOTA team that developed the new rules, and if the stories are right and the FOTA teams talked about this potential design and mutually ruled it out as not in keeping with the rules then I don't know what to think other than the creation of the rules should have been more clear, as in it should have specifically addressed this potential interpretation that the FOTA teams did not agree was in the spirtit of what they were trying to create.

 

^ Well said Doug. However I think when an argument is made about something not being in the "spirit of the rules", it usually is not something that is tangible and can be proven. Therefore I'd grant full kudos to Brawn, Williams & Toyota for their work just as I'd complement Adrian Newey's Red Bull design.

 

I think the "spirit of the rules" argument is bunk. I thought that one of the pillars of F1 was innovation. In my mind, innovation means finding a solution within a set of specific rules. This is the reason the team hires engineers. In any other racing series I can see the "spirit of the rules" argument because the focus is more on the racing and competition and creating parity among the participants, but in F1, where the focus on pushing boundaries is supposed to be important, the diffuser design should be praised rather than killed.

 

Read the Brawn article I posted. Brawn told them there was a problem (not really a problem, but some loopholes so to speak) with the rules....he gave them an alternative....they ignored him. Like he said...he is not there to design the other teams cars, just his own.

I believe the decision is quite easy and clear....legal. Just like Charles Whiting has said they are, and the 6 stewards at Australia and Malaysia.

I equate this whole situation as the 3 smart kids in the class...Brawn, Toyota, and Williams, being picked on by the stupids (Ferrari, BMW, Red Bull, Force India, McLaren, and Renualt.)