FIA backtracks on diffuser clampdown if all F1 teams agree

The FIA said on Saturday afternoon that if all Formula 1 teams agree, the clampdown will be withdrawn from the next race in Germany.

It said, however, that the rules would stay unchanged for this weekend's British Grand Prix.

"The measures which were communicated to the teams this morning by the FIA Technical Department stand for the rest of the weekend," said the FIA in a statement.

"During Saturday morning's Extraordinary Technical Working Group meeting, the members discussed the viability of returning to the pre-Silverstone set-ups and strategies.

"If the teams are in unanimous agreement, the FIA is prepared to adopt this arrangement until the end of the current season."

Formula 1's Technical Working Group had held a meeting this morning, with Red Bull Racing accepting it would be at a disadvantage this weekend given the diffuser clampdown.

"At the moment, in our opinion, we are running at a disadvantage to some of the other engine manufacturers," said Christian Horner.

"But we're trying to find a solution which is clear moving forward to put this behind us.

"The most simplistic thing would be to move back to exactly where we were two weeks ago."

There are still question marks over the chances of all teams agreeing to reverting to the pre-British Grand Prix situation, however, with Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn saying before the weekend that he was expecting protests if the FIA hadn't acted.

"Leaving things as they were, we were going to get protests and we certainly did not want that," said Brawn.

"Fundamentally I would rather leave things alone, but what I would not want to see is a lot of protest and F1 getting into a mess and into issues and the appeal court."

FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting had said last month that the clampdown was simply a way to stop teams from breaking the rules.

"We haven't made any changes to the rules; all we are doing is stopping people breaking the rules," he said.