2009 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74018

Williams withdraws Ferrari, RBR protest

By Jonathan Noble Saturday, March 28th 2009, 13:34 GMT

Williams has withdrawn its protest against the Ferrari and Red Bull Racing teams over a possible technical infringement.

Despite hours of deliberation by the Australian Grand Prix race stewards following Williams' complaints, and media and other officials being forced to remain at work in the paddock until the matter was resolved, the Grove-based outfit chose to call a halt to its complaints shortly before midnight.

Although the team has declined to comment on the situation, it is understood the protest related to the area of the car surrounding the front edge of the sidepods.

The Williams complaint came on the back of Ferrari and Red Bull Racing being two of the teams who protested against its own diffuser design earlier in the weekend.

Prior to the Williams protest being lodged, technical director Sam Michael said that he had no qualms with protests being lodged.

"Let's be 100 percent clear, if someone thinks our car is not legal, we have no problem with them going the stewards at any time throughout the race weekend or the championship and saying we think x on that car is illegal," he explained.

"We sit in front of the stewards and say this is our case, this is theirs and they either declare for us or against us. We fully support that process because they are effectively the policeman and you've got to have that. You can't ever not have that otherwise people can run riot.

"So we don't have any problem with what people have done this weekend. Those three teams now that they've appealed those decisions feel that they have a very strong pace otherwise they wouldn't have done that, because they've been through two processes already and they are continuing with that with the Court of Appeal. I wouldn't say that it frustrates us. We are accepting of that process and we will go through with it."

The decision to withdraw the appeal means that the results of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix have now been made official - with the only changes from the qualifying times being the exclusion of the two Toyota cars for flexi wings.

This has officially been the weirdest day in F1 history.
 
Williams withdraws Ferrari, RBR protest

By Jonathan Noble Saturday, March 28th 2009, 13:34 GMT

Williams has withdrawn its protest against the Ferrari and Red Bull Racing teams over a possible technical infringement.

Despite hours of deliberation by the Australian Grand Prix race stewards following Williams' complaints, and media and other officials being forced to remain at work in the paddock until the matter was resolved, the Grove-based outfit chose to call a halt to its complaints shortly before midnight.

Although the team has declined to comment on the situation, it is understood the protest related to the area of the car surrounding the front edge of the sidepods.

The Williams complaint came on the back of Ferrari and Red Bull Racing being two of the teams who protested against its own diffuser design earlier in the weekend.

Prior to the Williams protest being lodged, technical director Sam Michael said that he had no qualms with protests being lodged.

"Let's be 100 percent clear, if someone thinks our car is not legal, we have no problem with them going the stewards at any time throughout the race weekend or the championship and saying we think x on that car is illegal," he explained.

"We sit in front of the stewards and say this is our case, this is theirs and they either declare for us or against us. We fully support that process because they are effectively the policeman and you've got to have that. You can't ever not have that otherwise people can run riot.

"So we don't have any problem with what people have done this weekend. Those three teams now that they've appealed those decisions feel that they have a very strong pace otherwise they wouldn't have done that, because they've been through two processes already and they are continuing with that with the Court of Appeal. I wouldn't say that it frustrates us. We are accepting of that process and we will go through with it."

The decision to withdraw the appeal means that the results of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix have now been made official - with the only changes from the qualifying times being the exclusion of the two Toyota cars for flexi wings.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74018
 
I can't wait what happens tomorrow, and if there is some controversy during the race itself we will have the weirdest weekend in F1 history ;)
 
Awesome quali sesh. It was spoiled because I missed the live run, and Button's pole position was everywhere, but whatever. Very glad I couldn't bring myself to stop supporting Jenson, even when he was cruising around at the back.
Brawn have made McLaren look very inadequate today. It would've been nice to see Jenson and Lewis duke it out on track, but you can't have everything!
 
wow, button on pole:D
 
I said no in the "will Button win a championship" thread, but I'm a big enough man to also admit i said the Wii would be the death of Nintendo, and that the DS wouldn't find a niche.

Protip; I sell, you buy.

To be fair though I think the majority of it is down to the car, now how much of that speed advantage will disappear when all teams have the same diffuser types (whether that's because the appeal is upheld and Brawn have to change theirs, or the appeal is thrown out and everyone begins using a Brawn-style one)? Still, it's nice to see the underdogs doing so well - I'm happier seeing Vettel and Rosberg battling at the front end than Hamilton and Massa.
 
I just watched the quali rerun on BBC1. I know bla bla bla weak yadda yadda no self will, I'm a teenager. My body clock's designed for sleeping in.

Firstly, can I just congratulate Brawn GP and Mr. Branson. Both Jenson and Rubens are charismatic, likable and talented drivers, it's good to see them at the top after all the turmoil with Honda and so forth. They have a major corporate sponsor now, their pace is likely to continue as a result. If that's the case, we could be in for a 1988-esque season with two drivers of equal ability fighting for the top until the very end while everyone else scraps for 3rd.

Secondly, bad luck for Lewis Hamilton. 18th on the grid and to go out right at the start of the season shows the McLaren doesn't look all that reliable either. If McLaren don't make progress it's going to be a tough year for him.

Thirdly, looking at the onboard footage, the drivers do seem to be struggling with oversteer a lot more than they have previously done. Melbourne's kerbs aren't particularly aggressive, but the drivers do seem to be wrestling with them. Bernd Maylander is going to have a field day this season.

Interesting how KERS doesn't seem to bring much of an advantage. The power advantage doesn't seem to be really worth the extra weight or money invested. I expect them to be gone in a few races.

And lastly, congratulations to Bernie for moving the Australian GP to the afternoon. The faint glimmers of sunset you could see towards the end of qualifying really added something magical to the venue.

It's going to be a long and interesting season.

EDIT: What did everyone think of Jonathan Legard? I thought he was alright. It was weird to see F1 without hearing incessant shouting from James Allen in the background at first, but I quickly got used to it. He wasn't much better than his predecessor when it came to slips of the tongue, but at least he wasn't trying to be Murray Walker like James did.
 
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Qualifying was worth staying up late.

I'm so glad that Jenson finally has a car that can deliver the performance. lol @ Honda, they must be feeling quite daft now.

And I hope the Ferrari guys catch up soon with an aero pack or diffuser pack, it looks like they are struggling for pace.
 
I think Jonathan Legard did fairly well for his first time, I think he was just very nervous today and hopefully as he gets used to the role he'll cut out the mistakes!
 
I think Jonathan Legard did fairly well for his first time, I think he was just very nervous today and hopefully as he gets used to the role he'll cut out the mistakes!

Well... the Autosport forum has a thread about the BBC coverage and it quickly descended this morning in a Legard-bashing frenzy. There was nothing truly annoying as far as I could hear on the live stream.

As for the pundits, EJ has some rather antiquated ideas which clash with the current regs (second-tier teams in terms of engines, for example), but the EJ-DC-Jake Humphrey panel works surprisingly good.
 
Just a little note BMW has been known to have a more fuel efficient engine. Kubica should pit around lap 17-19.
 
That's the thing eh? The name might be different, but the car is all from Honda's development! It's not like this is the first time Honda ever raced in F1, they could have seen this coming. However, F1 costs a lot and they have shareholders to keep happy, they proved year after year that having a big budget means nothing and you've got to cut your losses some time, advertising be damned.
 
Let's just stop thinking about scenarios and just focus on the fact that there are 11 hours and 45 minutes left to the green lights going on and the formation lap starting.
 
To be fair though I think the majority of it is down to the car, now how much of that speed advantage will disappear when all teams have the same diffuser types (whether that's because the appeal is upheld and Brawn have to change theirs, or the appeal is thrown out and everyone begins using a Brawn-style one)? Still, it's nice to see the underdogs doing so well - I'm happier seeing Vettel and Rosberg battling at the front end than Hamilton and Massa.

I don't think so, as williams and toyota, didn't have as much speed as them. I think Brawn are a combination of Redbulls chassis and aero designed to work with the awesome diffuser, while redbull is just the chassis and aero sans diffuser. Red Bull will have some trouble adding the new diffusers, and when everyone else redesigns their rear wings and diffusers, they will gain 3/10ths or so, but won't get to the Brawns - but none of this matters, as no big technical advances will arrive until bahrain ish no?

I agree with the underdogs, Vettel and Rosberg are far more interesting than hamilton and massa. I love this seasons start.. as I find hamilton, his father, the british media hype, his pimp gwagon, and his girlfriend very very annoying and distracting, and now he's at the back end, either because he can't develop the car, or McMerc just mest up the downforce in the rear end. All my favorites are up the top, Button, WEbber, Barrichello, Rosberg, Vettel, Kimi, and Kubica. If only alonso could find some speed...
 
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Massa can't believe it either. :lol:
 
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