Formula One Finds All Diffusers To Be Legal

Well, the results of the protest are in, and the stewards have thrown the protest in the bin and found that the diffusers on all three teams' cars are all legal and conform to regulations set out by the sport's governing body—the FIA.

However, what a start Brawn GP have had in the sport. Ross Brawn has had his name on the side of a car for 20 days, and in this short amount of time the team has produced a car that has already topped the time sheets and managed to get Jenson Button to accept a huge pay cut. 

On top of this, today the team was in the firing line for potentially having misinterpreted the regulations regarding the BGP001's diffuser. As a result of this misunderstanding Brawn GP had a protest lodged against them by Ferrari, Red Bull, and Renault. The protest was accepted early this morning and has been reviewed by officials.

Ross Brawn and his team aren't the only ones on the pit lane that faced the protests. Both Toyota, and Williams were in the same boat also regarding their diffusers.

Speaking on behalf of Red Bull, adviser Helmut Marko told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport: "It's illegal. We'll make a protest on Thursday if the component isn't modified to conform to the regulations because that diffuser guarantees a five-tenths advantage per lap. Seven teams are certain it's illegal."

In response, Brawn GP's Jenson Button spoke on BBC Radio five live this morning, saying, "We're at the pinnacle of motorsport, and you've got a lot of manufacturers and teams that want to be the best. With the massive rule change that we've had, some people aren't going to like certain things on certain cars."

"They might think they are wrong but as far was we know our car is 100 percent legal. We've just built a very competitive car."

Under FIA rules, however, following this weekend's Grand Prix, the protesting teams are still allowed to appeal the decision after which a court hearing will decide the final stance on the diffuser row. For now, at least, Brawn GP, Toyota, and Williams will surely gain a morale boost on hearing this news.

Interestingly enough, I can confirm that McLaren and its sister team Force India did not lodge protests. It has been heard that McLaren and BMW Sauber have been looking at developing their own double-deck diffuser, while Force India had a similar design up and running in its wind tunnel back in January.

Following the decision by officials, Toyota released a statement that simply said: "[We] studied the wording of the new 2009 regulations in precise detail to ensure that we have interpreted them correctly."

Toyota Chairman Tadashi Yamashina added, "We are pleased with the decision of the race stewards but we prefer not to comment further on the situation."

Brawn GP and Williams have yet to release a statement regarding the allegations but you can bet your bottom dollar that Brawn will have something to say about the whole issue, whether it's in written form or spoken word on live TV.

If you ask me, the teams that lodged the complaint are just being petty and should spend more time on developing a car that can keep up with Brawn GP and less time protesting about something that they could learn from.