The protest lodged against the diffusers used by the Toyota, Williams and Brawn GP teams has been rejected by the FIA after a six-hour audition in Melbourne ahead of this week-end's season-opening Grand Prix.
Technical delegates had cleared the cars earlier today following the scrutineering process, but at least four teams - Renault, Red Bull, BMW Sauber and Ferrari - did not agree and formally protested.
The contesting teams had one hour to file an appeal of the FIA's decision, and they have done so with the excpetion of BMW Sauber, as reports indicate the team's paperwork arrived past the deadline.
The appeal hearing will take place after the Malaysian Grand Prix at earliest; therefore the disputed teams' race results shall remain provisional in the meantime.
Toyota statement:
Toyota Motorsport has studied the wording of the new 2009 regulations in precise detail to ensure that we have interpreted them correctly.
Toyota Motorsport Chairman Tadashi Yamashina said: "We are pleased with the decision of the race stewards but we prefer not to comment further on the situation. This weekend promises to be a tremendously exciting Australian Grand Prix so we are now looking forward to starting the competition on track with the first practice sessions on Friday."
Williams statement:
The Stewards of the Meeting for the Australian Grand Prix have rejected a protest lodged by Renault, Ferrari and Red Bull and confirmed that the Williams-Toyota FW31 is technically compliant with the appropriate 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations.
Williams' Technical Director Sam Michael said, "We are pleased with the Stewards' decision and we have no further comment to make."
Originally Posted by Petronas
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