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McLaren will not speak at diffuser appeal

fia-logoMcLaren have confirmed that although they will attend next week’s International Court of Appeal hearing, they will not make a formal submission.

Official protests from BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault over the double-decker diffuser designs on the Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams cars, have led to an ICA hearing next Tuesday in which the FIA will decide on the legality of the design.

The FIA have confirmed that McLaren, who are known to be opposed to the diffuser, will also attend the meeting. But they will not take an active role.

“When questioned about this by media in the past, McLaren personnel have stated that we believe that the diffusers used on the Brawn, Toyota and Williams cars are outside the scope and intent of the technical regulations,” a McLaren spokesman said.

“We will therefore be attending Tuesday’s hearing, but will not be making any oral presentations.

“McLaren’s role is therefore not an active one, whereas it is understood that BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault will all be making oral presentations to the ICA at the hearing. The ICA has acknowledged that McLaren will not be making any oral presentations at the hearing.”

McLaren will attend the following ICA meeting on the 29 April to discover their fate over the lie gate scandal.

Brawn GP boss, Ross Brawn, meanwhile has dismissed suggestions that the row over the diffuser designs has caused disharmony for the Formula One Teams Association.

“What I am pleased about is that FOTA is still operating well within its mandates, objectives and so on,” he told Autosport.

“This has not, as far as I can tell, damaged FOTA. We have to learn to work in that way, because we when we get on the track there will be instances where we will get very upset with each other.

“We have to put that to one side and say within FOTA we are trying to do something which is good for the sport.

“I draw this analogy with rugby, which is that you go out on the field and try and kill each other, then you come back and you have a beer. You have got to be able to separate those two things. And FOTA has got to be able to do that.

“We have got to be able to go out on the race track, objecting to someone’s technical specs of the car is all part of it. It is part of the event, and we have got to able to put that to one side and say, ‘okay we are having our situation there but let’s work on trying to help Formula 1 improve and become better’.

“If we do that, and we seem to be able to do that, then that means FOTA can work. If the first time we fall out on the track it blows FOTA apart then that’s no good and I don’t think that will happen.”

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