Thursday 14 July 2011

Governing body expects no further protests after reverting to Valencia rules

The FIA is confident there will be no further protests in the wake of the technical row that threatened at one stage to overshadow last weekend's British Grand Prix.
The introduction of a clampdown on the off-throttle use of blown diffusers sparked an exchange between Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and McLaren counterpart Martin Whitmarsh at Silverstone.
Both Renault, which supplies engines to Red Bull, and Mercedes-Benz, which powers McLaren, were handed concessions on reliability grounds.
But the governing body's attempts to find a fair equivalence resulted in two extraordinary meetings of the FIA's Technical Working Group (TWG) over the weekend.
In the event, Renault's concession was withdrawn but the FIA has now confirmed a return to the measures applied for the European Grand Prix in Valencia just over a fortnight ago.
For that race a ban on aggressive engine mapping - where an engine is tweaked via an electronic control unit between qualifying and the race to boost the blowing of the diffuser - came into force.
However, teams will still be given leeway to blow their cars' diffusers when the driver's foot is off the throttle - something which helps create greater, and more consistent, downforce.
Those rules will be able to be used by teams for the rest of the season, with the FIA admitting "the matter was more complex than initially thought".
In a Q&A on their website, the FIA confirm representations from Renault initially stirred the pot.
The governing body said: "This was felt to be the most sensible solution to a very complicated matter as the possibility of finding an alternative solution, which would be fair to all engine manufacturers, was becoming increasingly unlikely."
Confirming the matter now been settled, the FIA added: "All cars will run under 'Valencia' conditions for the remainder of the season.
"We are optimistic there will be no protests over any engine mapping and exhaust tailpipe issues this season.
"It was also agreed no team would raise a protest against another on these matters for the rest of the season."

Source: www.skysports.com

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