official F1 World Championship 2011 Thread

[san.W10]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?act=findpost&pid=5125726

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Virgin enters into technical partnership with McLaren

Virgin Racing has announced a technical tie-up with McLaren in a bid to help it improve its form in Formula 1.

Just weeks after the team parted company with its technical director Nick Wirth, Virgin Racing revealed on Monday that it had concluded a deal that will see it receive assistance from McLaren, as revealed by AUTOSPORT.

As part of the deal, Virgin Racing will have access to McLaren's facilities - such a test rigs, simulators and computer technology - plus its wind tunnel. Furthermore staff from McLaren will be placed within the Virgin Racing group.

As well as the McLaren tie-up, Virgin Racing has also purchased the business of Wirth Racing Technologies and its facilities in Banbury to provide a technical base for its future.

Andy Webb, CEO of Virgin Racing, said: "When we undertook our detailed review of the team in the first half of 2011, it was clear that our bold ambitions for the future would need to be matched with some equally bold steps towards achieving them.

"I am delighted that in a relatively short space of time we are now in the fantastic position of being able to make these two very important announcements, which will enable us to make some dramatic strides forward with immediate effect.

"Our technical partnership with McLaren is very exciting indeed. McLaren is one of the most prestigious and successful marques in grand prix racing history, with an enviable record of success over many years.

"We can benefit enormously from McLaren's far-reaching techniques and capabilities and I have no doubt that this partnership will see us take the technical steps necessary to make a significant leap forwards.

"In addition, our acquisition of the WRT Formula 1 business ensures continuity of technical infrastructure for the period ahead, which means that the transition to working with our new technical partner can begin immediately and is not frustrated by logistical considerations.

"Our three-centre operation has served us well in our formative years but our ambitions for the future will rely on the full might of the team coming together under one roof."

The technical changes at Virgin Racing come after an in-depth analysis of the team's situation by Pat Symonds, who has acted as a consultant for the team since the start of this year.

Symonds will continue assisting the team, even though he still cannot officially return to a full-time role in F1 as a legacy of the punishment he received for his involvement in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix race fix controversy.

Speaking about the tie-up with Virgin Racing, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "Under the terms of this technical partnership, Marussia Virgin Racing will be able to access McLaren's wind tunnel, simulator, rigs, and fitness and well being programmes.

"These properties are state-of-the-art, and we confidently therefore expect Marussia Virgin Racing to derive significant benefits from them.

"During the period in which we were agreeing this deal, our experience of dealing with Andy and his team was extremely positive and we recognise that he and his colleagues are very serious about making developments that will lift the competitiveness of their cars over the coming months and years."

McLaren already has an existing technical partnership in place with the Force India team.

Source: Autosport

[TheLegendOfMart]

What does McLaren get out of it? Money?

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

What does McLaren get out of it? Money?

A 'Team B', similar to what Toro Rosso is for Red Bull perhaps? We'll have to wait for further details.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Williams to run Renault engines again from 2012

Williams has announced that it will use Renault engines from the 2012 season, in a renewal of the partnership that dominated Formula 1 for much of the 1990s.

The initial deal is for 2012 and 2013, with an option to continue when the new rules are introduced in 2014.

Renault previously supplied Williams with factory engines from 1989 to 1997 in a collaboration that delivered four drivers' and five constructors' titles. The team is currently using Cosworth engines.

Team principal Frank Williams said he was extremely happy to reunite with Renault given their past successes together - but that both parties were now looking to an equally strong future.

"We are delighted and excited by our new partnership with Renault," he said. "This reunites the F1 team with a leading car manufacturer and complements our new relationship with Jaguar.

"At the same time, we are grateful to Cosworth: they have been a fair and reliable partner both on and off the track for the past two years and we look forward to working with them across our business in the future.

"Our previous relationship with Renault was one of the most successful in Williams' history but we will not allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past. We must look to the future and continue to re-build our on-track reputation, which I am hopeful that today's announcement will help us to do."

AUTOSPORT revealed earlier this year that Renault was keen to expand the number of teams it supplies engines too. Currently the Genii-owned Renault team, champion squad Red Bull Racing and Team Lotus run Renault V8s.

Renault Sport F1 president Bernard Rey said: "Renault remains in Formula 1 to achieve success in a cost efficient way and the partnership with Williams has great potential to add to the results we have notched up over recent years with our other partner teams.

"Williams has recently taken several important steps, both commercially and technically, to update its operations and we feel that this partnership is another important step in its rigorous plan. It reiterates how determined the team is to achieve results, which matches perfectly with our own objectives."

Rey added that supplying multiple teams was extremely important to Renault.

"From 2012 onwards the fact that we will have four partners puts us ahead of other engine manufacturers in terms of market share, but off track it will also enable us to further use Formula 1 as a marketing platform for our parent company, Renault, to try to bring a bit of this association to our fans and our customers worldwide," he said.

"Of course there's also a great pride in reviving the Williams-Renault name. Together, we produced racing cars that are recognised for their technical innovation and it is still Renault's most successful period in F1 to date. It's a hugely exciting opportunity for both Renault and Williams."

Source: Autosport

[san.W10]

new location for pits & paddock

pic source

http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/great_britain_861/circuit_diagram.html

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

[TheLegendOfMart]

Enjoyed Fp1 and 2 despite nothing major happening, Crofty and Ant are good commentators.

[san.W10]

game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjru9m5bN3Q

FIA to consider off-throttle blown diffuser issue overnightBy Jonathan Noble

Formula 1 teams will be informed on Saturday morning about whether the FIA intends to take any further action over the off-throttle blown diffuser issue, after controversy erupted on the eve of the British Grand Prix.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner and McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh clashed in public at an official FIA press conference at Silverstone over concessions that have been given to engine manufacturers to ensure their reliability is not hit by the ban on the off-throttle use of blown diffusers that is coming into force this weekend.

Whitmarsh was unhappy that a technical directive issued by the FIA on Friday morning left the way open for the Renault-powered teams - which include Red Bull Racing ? to use 50 per cent of throttle blowing while the drivers were braking.

Horner responded that the decision, given to Renault on reliability grounds and relating to exhaust valves, was only fair because the Mercedes-Benz outfits were allowed to use engine over-run under braking to help with crank case pressure.

The situation rumbled on over Friday evening and FIA race director Charlie Whiting met with engine representatives for a lengthy meeting to discuss their concerns and try to find a solution that was fair for everybody ? and prevent a situation where other engine makers try and find grounds to justify a similar 50 per cent limit.

AUTOSPORT understands that Whiting will decide overnight if further action needs to be taken, and the teams will be informed before the start of final free practice about the FIA's view on the matter.

Horner and Whitmarsh both expressed frustration at the situation during the FIA press conference when they were asked for their views on the matter.

Horner said: "There was a technical directive which effectively turned it all off. That was obviously with reticence by the manufacturers and it has been very much a manufacture issue.

"Certain teams were then allowed to have fired overrun, to fuel their over-run, of which there are also, obviously, secondary benefits through the exhaust plumes and thrusts that that creates. But that was permitted."

He added: "It would be unfair to allow fire over-run and not allow the same parameters for another engine manufacturer. I think it's a very, very difficult job for the FIA to pick their way through this and I think all credit to them, they've looked to try and be as fair, balanced and equitable as they decreed that they would be through the technical directive, to come up with the solutions that they have.

"We're not totally happy with the solution that we have, that's for sure. I'm sure Martin isn't with his and I'm sure there are a lot of conspiracies in the paddock that these are the reasons why Red Bull is performing or McLaren is performing, or some cars aren't performing. That's just circumstantial at the end of the day. The fundamentals are that the engine manufacturers have been treated in a fair and equitable manner."

Whitmarsh responded: "When the goalposts are moving partway through a practice session, then I think it makes it quite difficult. I think that with the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to make changes at year end which I think Christian would agree.

"I think that to do this and to do it a fairly cloudy and ambiguous and changing way inevitably, in a competitive environment, every team feels that it's been hard done by.

"At the moment, I think potentially a lot of teams will end up making an argument to cold blow. Renault have been in that domain for some time, other teams haven't and don't have that experience but we're talking about a very substantial performance benefit here..."

He added: "It's messy and I think the intention people believed was that we were going to stop exhaust blowing when the driver didn't have his foot on the throttle. I think that was the simple concept but that concept has been deflected and therefore it hasn't been clear. And the fact that these things were only coming out during the course of today is fairly extraordinary.

"But nonetheless, I'm sure we will remain calm and pick our way through but I think it's probably better to make changes to the regulations between seasons, not in season and also make changes to regulations which are clear and unambiguous.

"I think at the moment, a lot of people are clearly getting emotional about the situation and I can understand why: it's frustrating for the engineers not to know what it is that we're allowed to do, because these changes... by cold blowing you're getting 30, 40 points of extra rear downforce in braking and that's quite an attractive thing so if you can do it, then you're going to try and do it aren't you?"

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92948

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Red Bull seeks FIA clarification as Renault teams lose exhaust concession

Red Bull Racing is seeking clarification from the FIA about the state of the off-throttle blown diffuser regulations, after a ruling on Saturday morning prevented Renault-powered teams from being allowed to run a concession handed to them earlier in the weekend.

After an intense 24 hours of controversy over the issue, with McLaren and Red Bull Racing clashing over allowances that have been handed to their respective engine partners ahead of the British Grand Prix, the matter reached a head on Saturday morning.

Following consultation with engine representatives on Friday night, FIA race director Charlie Whiting wrote to the teams shortly before final free practice to inform them about the governing body's stance on the matter.

He told them that the FIA would stick with the position it held on the Thursday at Silverstone - where Mercedes-Benz was allowed to use an engine over-run under braking for reliability reasons relating to crank case pressure.

However, a concession handed to teams on Friday that would have allowed the Renault-powered teams, including Red Bull Racing, to run at 50 per cent throttle under braking has been withdrawn.

The allowance had been given to Renault because the French car maker claimed it needed to have such a level under braking to help with exhaust valve reliability.

The latest stance means that world championship leader Red Bull Racing will be forced to revert to the maximum 20 per cent limit at 18,000rpm that has been imposed on all teams - so could hurt its competitive form.

Following a series of meetings between Red Bull Racing chiefs and representatives of Renault in the paddock on Saturday morning, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner and technical chief Adrian Newey stormed down to see Whiting to discuss the matter.

Although clearly angry, Horner refused to comment at length over the issue.

"I am going down to speak to Charlie about it," he told AUTOSPORT. "I am not saying anything else."

Horner and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh argued over the issue in the official FIA press conference on Friday when it came to discussing the concessions handed to teams.

Horner said: "There was a technical directive which effectively turned it all off. That was obviously with reticence by the manufacturers and it has been very much a manufacture issue.

"Certain teams were then allowed to have fired overrun, to fuel their overrun, of which there are also, obviously, secondary benefits through the exhaust plumes and thrusts that that creates but that was permitted."

He added: "It would be unfair to allow fire overrun and not allow the same parameters for another engine manufacturer. I think it's a very, very difficult job for the FIA to pick their way through this and I think all credit to them, they've looked to try and be as fair, balanced and equitable as they decreed that they would be through the technical directive, to come up with the solutions that they have.

"We're not totally happy with the solution that we have, that's for sure. I'm sure Martin isn't with his and I'm sure there are a lot of conspiracies in the paddock that these are the reasons why Red Bull is performing or McLaren is performing, or some cars aren't performing. That's just circumstantial at the end of the day. The fundamentals are that the engine manufacturers have been treated in a fair and equitable manner."

Source: Autosport

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

[TheLegendOfMart]

Just watched FP3 with guest commentator the legend Murray Walker, Christian Horner is stomping about with a face like thunder its going to be an interesting qualifier.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Meanwhile the political drama continues:

FIA summons technical chiefs for urgent meeting amid exhaust rules row

An extraordinary meeting of Formula 1's Technical Working Group is taking place at Silverstone in an effort to resolve the exhaust rules controversy that has swamped the British Grand Prix weekend.

After yesterday's public dispute between Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh over the concessions their respective engine suppliers Renault and Mercedes were awarded for reliability reasons in the clampdown over off-throttle exhaust blowing, the FIA announced this morning that the Renault-powered teams would not get their 50 per cent throttle allowance after all.

This prompted Horner and Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey to make an urgent visit to FIA race director Charlie Whiting, who then called the TWG meeting.

"In order to discuss the subject of engine mapping there will be an extraordinary meeting of the TWG at 11.30 today in the meeting room adjacent to the F1 stewards office," said a note to teams issued by Whiting.

"It is important that each team sends a senior technical representative and we suggest that each team principal should also attend."

In a note issued to teams earlier today, Whiting said that the information that led to the Renault allowance had been received too late.

"Following further discussions with teams and engine manufacturers we are now in a position to offer the following view which we will enforce with immediate effect," said the bulletin.

"In line with the requirements to provide acceptable SECU configurations to the FIA before the start of the British GP, i.e. before the start of the event at 10.00 on Thursday, we consider any information provided after that time to be inadmissible for this event.

"Therefore, for the reminder of this event the requirements of TD/022-11 and TD025-11 stand as written and, as an exception (of which every engine manufacturer was aware before the start oft his event) fired overrun in FC04 will be permitted."

AUTOSPORT understands that Whiting has discussed the controversy with Bernie Ecclestone.

Source: Autosport

[san.W10]

Red Bull accepts Silverstone 'disadvantage' but wants future compromise solution

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says he can accept his squad running at a 'disadvantage' this weekend but wants a compromise deal for the future - or for the FIA to backtrack on its clampdown over off-throttle exhaust blowing settings and return to the pre-Silverstone situation.

After an extraordinary meeting of Formula 1's Technical Working Group was held this morning at Silverstone to try and find a resolution to the growing controversy, Horner said he would accept Red Bull running at what he feels is a 'disadvantage' this weekend if the situation was changed for the following race in Germany and beyond.

Concessions were made to both Mercedes and Renault on reliability grounds, but after disputes yesterday, the FIA decided first thing this morning that the Renault submissions had come too late, so withdrew the allowance to retain 50 per cent throttle opening under braking, while Mercedes kept its over-run firing concession.

Horner told the BBC that he was concerned not only for his team's competitiveness, but about how confusing the situation was becoming.

"We're trying to find a solution," he said. "It's in nobody's interest to have the lack of clarity that currently exists.

"Charlie [Whiting] made an offer. Red Bull has also offered a concession this weekend to run as we are.

"Obviously we need all the teams to agree to move on and put this behind us - which hopefully we're not far from achieving.

"At the moment, in our opinion, we are running at a disadvantage to some of the other engine manufacturers. But we're trying to find a solution which is clear moving forward to put this behind us.

"The most simplistic thing would be to move back to exactly where we were two weeks ago."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92959

what if even now RBR win?

:rofl:

[simonlang]

this is a complete joke. fia doing everything to bring alonso and ferrari back into wdc fight.

sooooo damn glad that redbull locked out the front-row still, i hope they play a team-race tomorrow, vettel to lead and webber to hold up the ferraris.

mclaren obviously totally lost, so is renault.

whahahahah just seen the face of loserlonso on tv right now. :D :D :rofl:

dr. marko on interview now: tomorrow before the race there will be ANOTHER meeting, they might revert back to the old rules for the next race but not for this.

lovely... :cool:

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

From the let's-turn-the-sport-into-a-farce-department:

FIA backtracks on diffuser clampdown if all F1 teams agree

Formula 1's ruling body, the FIA, has decided to backtrack on its blown diffuser clampdown following days of controversy over the matter.

The FIA said on Saturday afternoon that if all Formula 1 teams agree, the clampdown will be withdrawn from the next race in Germany.

It said, however, that the rules would stay unchanged for this weekend's British Grand Prix.

"The measures which were communicated to the teams this morning by the FIA Technical Department stand for the rest of the weekend," said the FIA in a statement.

"During Saturday morning's Extraordinary Technical Working Group meeting, the members discussed the viability of returning to the pre-Silverstone set-ups and strategies.

"If the teams are in unanimous agreement, the FIA is prepared to adopt this arrangement until the end of the current season."

Formula 1's Technical Working Group had held a meeting this morning, with Red Bull Racing accepting it would be at a disadvantage this weekend given the diffuser clampdown.

"At the moment, in our opinion, we are running at a disadvantage to some of the other engine manufacturers," said Christian Horner.

"But we're trying to find a solution which is clear moving forward to put this behind us.

"The most simplistic thing would be to move back to exactly where we were two weeks ago."

There are still question marks over the chances of all teams agreeing to reverting to the pre-British Grand Prix situation, however, with Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn saying before the weekend that he was expecting protests if the FIA hadn't acted.

"Leaving things as they were, we were going to get protests and we certainly did not want that," said Brawn.

"Fundamentally I would rather leave things alone, but what I would not want to see is a lot of protest and F1 getting into a mess and into issues and the appeal court."

FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting had said last month that the clampdown was simply a way to stop teams from breaking the rules.

"We haven't made any changes to the rules; all we are doing is stopping people breaking the rules," he said.

Source: Autosport

Insert facepalm here.

[ahmz]

Absolutely pathetic. Who runs this sport? A pack of monkeys?

[san.W10]

Teams to consider diffuser rule offer on Sunday morning

Formula 1 teams will meet on race morning at the British Grand Prix to try and reach agreement on a move to ditch the ban on the off-throttle use of blown diffusers, with outfits not yet unanimous in their support of the matter.

After controversy over the Silverstone weekend about the FIA's imposition of its ban on blown diffuser use under braking, the governing body offered on Saturday night to allow teams to keep the systems if there was unanimous support among them.

Although leading outfits including Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, and McLaren are understood to be in favour of the move, other teams are not totally convinced.

Williams, who was the original catalyst for the blown diffuser clampdown after querying potential future designs with the FIA, said it would wait until after it has discussed matters with engine partners Cosworth before deciding if it supports the move.

When asked about his expectations for the Sunday morning meeting, Williams technical director Sam Michael said: "I don't know yet. I think the main thing is that we had a meeting this morning and it became pretty clear that Williams, Ferrari and Sauber were not fully aware of what all the issues were with Mercedes and Renault.

"And though those teams felt there had been a lot of dialogue about how they needed to re-tune their engines for different throttle and fuel - we didn't know anything about it.

"The first time I heard there was going to be a different throttle position was from a journo at lunchtime yesterday. So I think during that meeting, I came out of there with a lot better picture of what their actual problem was, because unless you sit and look at things in detail it's a bit difficult.

"But during that meeting I had Paddy Lowe explain Mercedes position and Adrian Newey explain Renault's position, and then I had a further quite detailed conversation with Adrian about what Renault's issues were. And now we have a much better view of what their actual issues are. How that is going to affect tomorrow I don't know yet."

Michael added that he was undecided yet on which way he would vote in the meeting.

"I've heard all the arguments and now I need to sit down with Cosworth and our guys to see what our position is," he said. "Really, that's just our view as well, it doesn't mean that's what the FIA will adopt."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said he feared that the rest of the season could be blighted by 'paranoia' if individual teams stood up and blocked the efforts to get rid of the ban.

"Inevitably in F1 self interest sometimes prevails, but I think unless we go back to that, then this season is going to be fraught with paranoia, the feeling of being hard done to, being disadvantaged," Whitmarsh explained. "We have got what we have got.

"It may be worse for other teams. It has certainly hit this team, it has hit the performance of our car, and I think that is evident from the stop watch - and hopefully from our perspective we get to a situation.

"It is not good to change the rules midway through the year. If you do that, the team that has worked hardest to perhaps refine that particular rule may well be disadvantaged."

Whitmarsh believes that going back to the regulations as they were in Valencia was undoubtedly the best solution for everybody.

"This morning it seemed it was likely to happen," he said when asked how confident he was that unanimity could be found. "Whether people like exhaust blowing or not, it is probably the most equitable situation.

"We had a free market so to speak leading up to Valencia. People in good faith expect that is what we have got, that is what we will develop our engines for, that is what we will develop our exhaust for, that is what we will develop the fundamental aerodynamics of the car and the vehicle handling and set-up, so everything we have done is based upon that, and working in good faith.

"No one was complaining about it 18 months or 12 months ago or 6 months ago, so I think it would be the fairest thing."

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn was less optimistic, however, admitting that several teams were not too keen for the ban to be overturned.

"Difficult," he said. "We are meeting at 10:30 tomorrow. It was clear from the meeting that we had today that there were different opinions. It was held in a constructive fashion, but there were different opinions and some of the teams went away to consider their opinions.

"In fairness, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, ourselves were happy to try and find a solution that we felt was good for Formula 1. It was the first time that some of the teams had heard the proposal and they want to reflect on it and give an answer tomorrow. I hope that we find a solution because we want to tidy this thing away and get on with the racing. I really don't know where we will be tomorrow, but I hope that we do find a solution."

Brawn hopes that those teams who felt they would be disadvantaged by the ban not taking place would be open to considering the ultimate benefits for F1.

"If we go back to that [Valencia specification], we will still have some teams that are unhappy with that situation. It's a question of whether they can recognise that it's not easy to find a solution.

"Whichever way we go, someone will feel aggrieved about the solutions that take place. Most people now recognise that it might have been best left to the end of the year and then move the exhausts to a new position next season where they will be more benign and we could have avoided these difficulties."

If agreement is not reached at the TWG meeting, Brawn reckons that the FIA would stick with the regulations as they were in place at Silverstone.

"Where we were today is what the FIA have decreed and are comfortable with," he said. "So I imagine we stay where we are."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92987

:rofl:

So i guess, Vettle wins WDC & RBR WCC

the most interesting part would be - who'll be second? :p

[san.W10]

Red Bull chiefs threatened walkout over exhaust saga

"Ecclestone persuaded Horner to stay"

Red Bull chiefs threatened to boycott the British grand prix over the blown exhaust scandal, according to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

When it emerged that the team?s 50 per cent throttle concession was withdrawn before qualifying at Silverstone, Christian Horner was reportedly furious as he hopped between emergency meetings with FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone.

"Ecclestone persuaded Horner to stay," said the newspaper.

For now, Red Bull has accepted the current situation ahead of more talks on Sunday morning, where all the teams have been asked by the FIA to agree to dropping the clampdown altogether.

"It would be the fairest solution for everyone but experience tells me that self-interest in such a dispute always plays a role," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Agreed Mercedes? Ross Brawn, to SID news agency: "The issue is so complex that it will be difficult to find a way. But I hope we do."

It is believed that Williams is yet to sign the letter confirming the teams? unanimous position on reversing the clampdown.

"I need to discuss our position with Cosworth," Williams? technical director Sam Michael is quoted by autohebdo.fr.

And Ferrari, whose Fernando Alonso leapt into race-winning contention with a strong qualifying on Saturday, is reportedly staying out of the debate but its customer team Sauber is yet to sign the unanimity letter.

"We are thinking too small in our small and dedicated world," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali told the Guardian.

"People outside do not care about hot gases or cold gases. We need to take the level of discussion to another platform. This is the big challenge that we face for the future of formula one," he said.

http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/Red-Bull-chiefs-threatened-walkout-over-exhaust-saga,26406.html

[MightyJordan]

Hmm, looks like we've got light rain forecasted at Silverstone today. Let's hope it's correct, then we might have an interesting race on our hands! :)

[simonlang]

im totally perplex that fia gifted ferrari basically 1.5 seconds and took mclaren the same ammount of laptime away by this new stupid ruling and no one really seems to care that much. :no:

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Formula 1 faces continued uncertainty as teams fail to reach agreement in exhaust rules row

Formula 1 faces continued uncertainty over its exhaust regulations after this morning's meeting of the sport's team bosses and technical chiefs at Silverstone failed to reach an agreement.

Following a weekend of controversy over the FIA's clampdown on the practice of off-throttle exhaust blowing and the various allowances made to engine builders on reliability grounds, the governing body said it would call off the rule tweak and revert to the pre-Silverstone situation if the teams agreed unanimously that this was the best option.

But this morning's meeting saw no unanimous support for such a deal.

AUTOSPORT's sources have revealed that Ferrari and the Ferrari-powered Sauber team refused to sign the deal to return to the Valencia specification.

There had been speculation that Cosworth engine user Williams would do likewise, but it is understood to have been in favour of this solution.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh had said yesterday that revert to the pre-Silverstone situation was in his opinion the only sensible option.

"Inevitably in F1 self interest sometimes prevails, but I think unless we go back to that, then this season is going to be fraught with paranoia, the feeling of being hard done to, being disadvantaged," he said. "We have got what we have got.

"It may be worse for other teams. It has certainly hit this team, it has hit the performance of our car, and I think that is evident from the stop watch - and hopefully from our perspective we get to a situation.

"It is not good to change the rules midway through the year. If you do that, the team that has worked hardest to perhaps refine that particular rule may well be disadvantaged."

Source: Autosport

/double facepalm

Words escape me.

[simonlang]

AUTOSPORT's sources have revealed that Ferrari and the Ferrari-powered Sauber team refused to sign the deal to return to the Valencia specification.

i really really hope that alonso dnfs today or even better redbull uses webber to crash alonso out. dont wanna see these cheating ******** to luck into a win or even challenging the highly deserving vettel for the championship.

its really LOW if you need regulators to take away others hard engineered work just to make you look better. thats communism. :angry: :crazy: