Formula One:Formula One today faced an early storm after an official protest was lodged against the legality of the cars belonging to Toyota, Williams and Brawn GP. A wheel has yet to turn in anger in the new season, yet Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull all lodged separate protests against their rivals.
They believe Toyota, Williams and Brawn GP failed to interpret correctly the new ruling relating to the rear diffuser, a key aerodynamic component that governs the airflow beneath a car.
BMW Sauber also protested but that was thrown out by the race stewards governing this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix on a technicality.
The stewards - Radovan Novak, Olafur Gudmundsson and Steve Chopping - after giving the cars the green light earlier today, are almost certain to throw out the protest.
It is likely to lead to an appeal that will be heard after next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
It means if the three accused score points in either Sunday’s race at Melbourne’s Albert Park or in Kuala Lumpur, and that is almost certain given their pace, the result of those two grands prix would be under appeal.
It is hardly the start to the season the sport needed, especially after the recent points fiasco, but then politics go hand-in-hand with F1.
Jenson Button, for one, is adamant the car he will be competing in this season falls within the current sporting regulations.
Asked if it would be a huge disappointment if his car turns out to be illegal, Button replied: “You’ve said it.
“It doesn’t change anything for me. I can’t do anything about it. It’s down to Ross (Brawn) and whoever else is involved.
“It’s not something I personally have any control over, and the best person to speak to about that is Ross.”
But then questioned on whether he and Brawn felt the car was legal, Button replied: “For sure. Yeah.”
Toyota Motorsport president John Howett is also confident there is nothing untoward with his team’s car, in particular after making all the right moves beforehand.
“In motor racing anybody is allowed to protest and I don’t have an issue with that,” said Howett. “But we’ve studied the regulations in detail, and we’re very confident we have interpreted them correctly.
“We used the consultation process with the FIA technical department and we are satisfied that they verified our interpretation.”
Asked whether Toyota had a contingency plan if the diffuser was declared illegal, Howett replied: “No, because I don’t think we need one.”