2009 Formula One Australian Grand Prix

[Rockefella]

Either that or they amend the rules and force the supa' diffusa' teams to use diffusers more in line with the spirit of the rules. I hope however that they don't strip these teams of points as that'd be goofy.

Some kind of compromise on the diffusers is the way to go I think. Allow them as long as, like you said, they become appropriate aerodynamic devices instead of being viewed as an exploitation of a loophole.

[f6fhellcat13]

As Kitdy and I were discussing on MSN, retroactively taking away the points would be wrong and would further hurts the sport's image.
I think that the diffusers should be banned as they go against the spirit of the law, but until then, while it is perfectly legal, the teams with them should be able to reap what they've sown.

Though we've had our fair share of steward controversy over the past few years, does anybody know if the "fan car", which was initially approved by the stewards, was penalized once it was banned?

[Kitdy]

I love loophole exploitations - they show smart rule interpretation and innovative thinking - however, plugging them at some point makes some sense.

[scottie300z]

I love loophole exploitations - they show smart rule interpretation and innovative thinking - however, plugging them at some point makes some sense.

I don't have the greatest grasp of the situation, but I found the whole thing a bit odd.

If the rear diffuser is mandated to be a certain way on the ends, why isn't it in the area around the light? And when making this rule, shouldn't a loop hole of that kind be obvious?

[Matra et Alpine]

If it was an obvious thing then it would never become a "Loophole".
By defintition

[RacingManiac]

or just keep the diffuser legal and let the rest catch up....IMO it'd be no different when the first guy turned up with ground effect or something. They all eventually catch up, and looking at Q2 time even teams that complained about it aren't that far off....

[scottie300z]

If it was an obvious thing then it would never become a "Loophole".
By defintition

Thought you had me there at first, but then I realized that isn't true. How easily it is found has nothing to do with the definition, just that it exists is all that matters.

[charged]

Rubens, you idiot

[Zytek_Fan]

Good god.
Vettel, you bloody idiot.

[Zytek_Fan]

Brawn 1-2

[RacingManiac]

un-freaking-believable.....

1-2 for a team that was no where 3 month back....you can't make this stuff up....

JB is the luckiest driver on the grid....so is RB....

[cmcpokey]

wow. amazing. go brawn! i'm sold. Button for WDC.

[LeonOfTheDead]

So...the result of these new rules is a complete mess and madness among drivers...but a good show to watch nonetheless.
Kubica and Vettel made the final part of the race more interesting and less embarassing for Raikkonen who retired (anyone has an idea why?).
Also, I missed why Massa retired, I was waking up the gf and when I came back to the tv the dude was starring in the box.

props to Brawn and RedBull (Vettel) for creating a fast car and even reliable. BMW (Kubica) played a good game, still they lacked the perfection of the Brawns, with Barichello recovering very well from his initial error. McLaren has never impressed with Hamilton, and even Ferrari never was a part of the game, it was just there during the initial part, and nothing else. The Toyotas showed a good pace especially considering they started from the back.

All in all the new aero packages allowed, to my eyes, a better fight, ith cars following each others much closer than before even during twisty parts. The Kers didn't showed an astounding difference, still when there was the camera car on, you could perceive a little difference. About that, Ferrari's one was definitely better than the McLaren's one.
The race wasn't really exiting for the whole part, but definitely an improvement over the past years considerng it was a pretty uneventful race.
Bridgestone should seriously reconsider its super-soft tires, even if it seems the FIA itself asked for a bit (a lot) of gambling during the race trough the tires (yeah, right, another smart idea...but about oil on the track next time?!).

[Rockefella]

Good god.
Vettel, you bloody idiot.

I think Kubica was more at fault since Vettel couldn't move over any further but it was a mistake on both if their parts. I think they both would agree.

[Ferrer]

Incredible indeed. Now let's see if they can maintaim the pace throughout the season.

Also interesting was the number of unusual front running teams in the race.