'Illegal' bodywork appeal rejected by F1 chiefs

Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull had their protests over what they claimed was illegal bodywork on the cars of rivals Williams, Toyota and Brawn rejected by the FIA here on Thursday.

Motorsport's governing body ruled that the three teams' cars were all legal and could line up in Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The protesting teams announced they were challenging the decision with their appeal expected to be held after the Malaysian Grand Prix on April 5.

The row centres on the diffusers which Williams, Toyota and Brawn had put on the underbody of the cars to make them more aerodynamic.

Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull claim they are contrary to the rules.

They believe the controversial diffusers generate more downforce and give a lap-time benefit of as much as 0.5 seconds.

After Thursday's six hour hearing Toyota F1 president Tadashi Yamashina issued a statement saying: "We are happy with the race officials' decision but we prefer not to comment further."

Before the FIA's ruling, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had said: "This is a sporting and competitive issue, it's nothing personal against the teams."

"It's illegal," Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko said on Wednesday ahead of his team's official protest.

"That diffuser guarantees a five-tenths of a second advantage per lap."

The controversy surfaced in pre-season testing and intensified when the new Brawn GP cars proved fastest, with Brawn driver Jenson Button picked as this weekend's favourite even though he has won just once in 153 Formula One races.

The 29-year-old Briton tried to steer clear of the controversy Thursday.

"It's not something that I have any control over personally and the best person to speak to about that is Ross Brawn," he said.





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