Ferrari 'forced' to re-develop F60 design

The ICA's verdict, announced on Wednesday, is a blow to those teams that did not pursue the design concept when they created their 2009 cars - as it is widely accepted that the double-decker diffusers have brought a performance advantage.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen suggested last week that the diffuser decision would be vital for the outcome of the world title - with his team likely to have to wait for several races before being able to fit a suitable one to their car.

Team principal Stefano Domenicali added in a statement that he was waiting to hear the reasoning behind the decision, but said that Ferrari would now invest time and money into creating a solution for its cars.

"Unfortunately this decision forces us to intervene on fundamental areas of the car's design in order to be able to compete on an equal footing with some of the teams from a point of view of the technical regulations, and that will take time and money," said Domenicali.

"We will now double our efforts to get the team back to the highest level of competitivity."