Setting the scene for Spain
Tha talk on Thursday in Barcelona revolved around rules, Alonso's new deal, Schumacher's struggles, Sutil's off-track problems, and how to find a slot for the Bahrain GP. Edd Straw sets the scene for the Spanish GP weekend
"What's the rule this hour?" asked Mark Webber when the topic of the FIA changing the rules on exhaust blown diffusers came up today. He was clearly unimpressed with the on/off ruling that would have mitigated the effectiveness of the concept for this weekend - and probably will after next month's technical working group meeting.
One important thing to clarify. This is not about banning the exhaust blown diffuser; it's about preventing teams from keeping the diffuser 'lit' with high-speed exhaust gases while the driver is off the throttle. The FIA proposal would have limited the throttle to just 10 per cent in such circumstances - denting, but not destroying the effectiveness of the design. Nonetheless, a huge change to implement at short notice, unless of course you agree that it was always outlawed by the regulations.
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