Double-Decker Diffuser Ruled Legal

Jenson Button's World Championship aspirations have received a significant boost after the FIA's International Court of Appeal ruled the diffuser designs used by Brawn, Williams and Toyota legal.

After deliberating overnight, the ICA rejected the appeals of Red Bull, Ferrari, Renault, BMW and McLaren - who also entered the appeal at a late stage - thus upholding the steward's decision to approve of the double-decker device before the Australian Grand Prix.

“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," said the FIA in a statement released today.

“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.”

Toyota Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina said he wasn't in any doubt that the team's initial interpretation of the regulations was correct.

“I was confident the Court of Appeal would reach this verdict and I am satisfied with it,” he said.

“It is important to stress we studied the technical regulations in precise detail, consulting the FIA in our process, and never doubted our car complied with them.”

Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali said his team would immediately commence development of a new rear diffuser, despite the fact it could force a significant overhaul of the car's design.

“Unfortunately this decision forces us to intervene on fundamental areas of the car's design in order to be able to compete on an equal footing with some of the teams from a point of view of the technical regulations, and that will take time and money," Domenicali said.

“We will now double our efforts to get the team back to the highest level of competitivity.”

(Competitivity? Good word that.)