2009 Formula One Australian Grand Prix

[Jack_Bauer]

Friday Practice One

01 N. Rosberg Williams 1:26.687 19 laps
02 K. Nakajima Williams 1:26.736 21 laps
03 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.750 24 laps
04 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:27.226 21 laps
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:27.453 15 laps
06 J. Button Brawn GP 1:27.467 12 laps
07 F. Massa Ferrari 1:27.642 24 laps
08 T. Glock Toyota 1:27.710 24 laps
09 A. Sutil Force India 1:27.993 20 laps
10 F. Alonso Renault 1:28.123 16 laps
11 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:28.137 20 laps
12 J. Trulli Toyota 1:28.142 21 laps
13 R. Kubica BMW 1:28.511 22 laps
14 G. Fisichella Force India 1:28.603 16 laps
15 S. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:28.785 27 laps
16 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:29.042 18 laps
17 M. Webber Red Bull 1:29.081 7 laps
18 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:29.461 25 laps
19 S. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:29.499 21 laps
20 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:32.784 4 laps

Friday Practice Two

01. Rosberg Williams 1:26.053 36 laps
02. Barrichello Brawn 1:26.157 38 laps
03. Trulli Toyota 1:26.350 42 laps
04. Webber Red Bull 1:26.370 30 laps
05. Button Brawn 1:26.374 38 laps
06. Glock Toyota 1:26.443 42 laps
07. Nakajima William 1:26.560 33 laps
08. Vettel Red Bull 1:26.740 19 laps
09. Sutil Force India 1:27.040 29 laps
10. Massa Ferrari 1:27.064 35 laps
11. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:27.204 32 laps
12. Alonso Renault 1:27.232 28 laps
13. Fisichella Force India 1:27.282 32 laps
14. Heidfeld BMW 1:27.317 34 laps
15. Kubica BMW 1:27.398 36 laps
16. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:27.479 36 laps
17. Kovalainen McLaren 1:27.802 35 laps
18. Hamilton McLaren 1:27.81 31 laps
19. Piquet Renault 1:27.828 35 laps
20. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:28.076 33 laps


Very strong showing from Williams so far, with Brawn and Toyota not too far behind. Interesting to see in the second practice to 6 of the fastest 7 cars are using the 'questionable' diffusers, with only Mark Webber spoiling the party.

Ferrari looked reasonably strong, as did Red Bull once they got their cars' early reliability problems sorted. McLaren struggled as expected. Force India looked remarkably promising, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the dismal performance of the BMWs. Many had tipped them to be up there with Ferrari as having one of the strongest packages, but they didn't look good at all today. It was interesting that on the pit-car radio transmissions Kubica was heard saying, "I don't recognise this car. It's not the same. It is very, very difficult to drive." Clearly something's gone wrong between the Barcelona tests and arriving in Melbourne.

[Wouter Melissen]

We just to applaud creative interpretations of the regulations, now they are deemed questionable. I love that some teams have come up with something different that actually works. Great work. I hope that one of the three teams wins the race.

[Jack_Bauer]

I think the teams have to be applauded for their creativity. It's interesting that prior to the Grand Prix weekend it seemed like the 7 other teams seemed fairly united in wanting to protest the legality of the other 3 cars, but when push came to shove only 3 actually went and lodged formal complaints (BMW also tried but apparently missed the deadline). I guess the others have decided that their energies are better spent focussing on their own cars than worrying about any issues with other teams' cars.

The worry I have from a neutral fan standpoint is that while they have been very clever with their diffusers, they run the risk of subverting the intention of the rules. The new diffuser and rear wing rules are there to help minimize the aero turbulence behind the cars to make it easier to follow and hopefully pass cars in front. With these clever solutions the Brawn, Toyota and Williams cars are not only faster in terms of raw pace, they may also be far harder to follow in traffic. Great news for them and their fans; not great news for people who want to see close, exciting racing. Especially as if they are deemed legal then you can bet your house that all the other teams will come out with similar designs once we get back to Europe.

It's not really their fault of course, the FIA's rules clearly needed to be more watertight to avoid such loopholes in the first place.

[Wouter Melissen]

I wonder how many teams have a 'back-up' version of that diffuser available for the next race. Those that don't are not very smart.

[pimento]

Either all the teams are hard at work in their wind tunnels and what not creating their new rear diffusers, or thei're desparately hoping that the FIA decide that they're not legal. If they do decide they're not legal, they have to avoid laying down penalties.. given they have set the hearing date after two races, penalties would be ridiculous and harmful to the sport.

In other news, I'm looking forwards to a year of interesting results as the teams get used to the new regs and adapt their cars as much as they can.

[Dino Scuderia]

It keeps F1 in the headlines and keeps us talking about it....that is what they're after...a certain amount of the diffuser scuff is probably orchestrated.

[RacingManiac]

Not to mention to disrupt the united front of FOTA, you keep them angry at each other, not at you....

I am sure all the big teams probably have a back up version of the "illegal" diffuser for use if they need to. Red Bull is rumored to be in trouble if the questionable design is set to stay because of their design choice of using pullrod at the back, all the suspension mounts low on the Red Bull car and they might now not have the room for the new design...

I also like how fast the new cars are.....again the tires and the winter R&D have circumvented the rule changes...

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

Not to mention to disrupt the united front of FOTA, you keep them angry at each other, not at you....

Well I think most of these managers are mature enough to appreciate the effort of the three teams. They would have done the exact same thing. It will be more important to stay united. This situation will be rectified within a matter of races. The FOTA/FOA fight for power will most likely not.

[Kooper]

Apparently BMW won't be able to follow suit with the diffusers because of gearbox dimensions. If true, there goes my prediction.

[LTSmash]

Here's a Q & A I found on the diffuser issue with Rubens.

Q: How frustrating is it knowing that whatever result you get here in Australia, it might get wiped out, if the appeal on diffusers gets upheld. Is that difficult for you as a driver?

RB: It’s not my business. I am driving the car and I don’t think that the car is illegal at all. If the FIA has approved it now, why should they say in ten days that the car is not right? The car is correct and it is up to the others to make a better car.

SOURCE: The Official Formula 1 Website

I would have to agree with Rubens on this one. It (the car) was approved by FIA, and McLaren and Ferrari should have just designed a better car. It's called having the upper hand on the competition.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by LTSmash

I would have to agree with Rubens on this one. It (the car) was approved by FIA, and McLaren and Ferrari should have just designed a better car. It's called having the upper hand on the competition.

Definitely agree.

We want clever developments, but everytime someone comes up with something new that seems to work all teams do is protest? Work harder I'd say.

[RacingManiac]

Originally Posted by LTSmash

Here's a Q & A I found on the diffuser issue with Rubens.



SOURCE: The Official Formula 1 Website

I would have to agree with Rubens on this one. It (the car) was approved by FIA, and McLaren and Ferrari should have just designed a better car. It's called having the upper hand on the competition.

Thats why they all have lawyers....

[cmcpokey]

i am just astounded by the names at the top of the timesheets. and it woudl be one thing, if they just had one fast lap and got up there, but Rosberg never put a wheel wrong. stayed at the top the whole time. Nakajima was near the top the whole time too. i think this might just foretell the topsy-turvyness of the whole season. i'll definitely be staying up very late to watch the race.

[LeonOfTheDead]

I agree on the idea of all this fuzz about the diffusers being partially orchestrated, it's a good way to revive the attention of the enthusiasts (even those who don't bother to chat in an excellent car forum) before the season starts.
Also, I don't think the big teams missed the idea of such an interpretation of the rules. Possibly, considering previous similar issues, they considered that usually FIA tends to ban what raise doubts about a questionable interpretation of the rules, so they just decided to play it safe. Besides, the teams who adopted this solution aren't usually front runners (in the last seasons) so the risk was worth the prize.
On a final note, another possibility that resulted in the big ones to avoid this solution is that it could be quite intrusive on the whole design of the cars, not only on the rear one, so if this kind of diffuser gets banned, the whole design could be in jeopardy missing one of the main parts.

Finally, if this results in better races and really smarter engineers, props to them, no doubts.

[RacingManiac]

One thing that kinda made this diffuser issue a lot more critical from the rule maker's stand point, is that since much of the rule changes and the move to the slick tires results in cars with a lot more front authority, the rear downforce become a hot commodity. And really if the rule was not written with clear intent then it probably causes a lot of team to miss out because their design direction wasn't directed that way. Red Bull's suspension, BMW's gearbox...etc, probably would be designed differently if it was spelt out from the beginning as to what was considered acceptable....