Setting the scene for Spain

"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.

Now, where you stand on this particular debate appears to correlate directly with the colour of your clothing. The teams benefiting the most from this particular idea are, strangely, very much in favour of it being allowed to continue. Those that aren't, or who believe that their rivals are getting a bigger advantage, would rather than it was outlawed as the FIA proposes. Funny that...

Less amusing are the legal shenanigans relating to the infamous Shanghai nightclub incident on the evening of the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, Adrian Sutil's press briefing, which usually attracts a tiny cohort of specialist journalists outside of the German media, was strangely popular.

With nothing to gain from making any comment at all about events in a Shanghai nightclub after the Chinese Grand Prix, it made for an uncomfortable session as Sutil insisted he was fully focused on the job in hand.

To be fair to the German, he performed well in Turkey with this hanging over him. All he can do now is ensure that he lives up on his promise to deliver, especially as Force India's confirmation earlier this week that he would be in the car specifically referred to the Spanish Grand Prix, rather than the rest of the season. Make of that what you will...

Elsewhere in the world of drivers, Ferrari's confirmation that it has extended Fernando Alonso's contract to the end of the 2016 season came as no surprise. The Spaniard is well on his way to becoming a prancing horse legend, committing to seven-year stint at a team in which he claims to have felt instantly at home when he joined before last season.

Michael Schumacher © sutton-images.com

As one driver carves his own Ferrari legend, so does the Scuderia's most successful driver continue to attract negative publicity. After a disappointing Turkish Grand Prix, during which he showed good pace when things were going right, there has been a fresh wave of questions about his future. He was asked whether he was thinking about extending his Mercedes deal to the same year.

"To the end of 2016?" responded Schumacher. "I don't think that it is really necessary to think about this right now and I am not sure if I would really want to do this or not."

The other big story of the day is the potential travel chaos caused by re-jigging the calendar to accommodate the Bahrain Grand Prix. The idea is that the Indian Grand Prix vacates its 30 October slot for Bahrain and becomes the season finale on 4 December.

Privately, many in the paddock would much rather they didn't have to go to Bahrain at all this year, not least because the rescheduling of the end of the season would create all sorts of chaos and extra cost. Not to mention other concerns that can easily be raised with a judicious web search of some of the more reputable news websites covering the region.

Perhaps the simplest solution would be to incorporate the Bahrain Grand Prix into the Race of Champions event, which is due to take place in Frankfurt on the first weekend of December? This season finale would at least guarantee a close end to the championship, not to mention a crowd that the Bahrain Grand Prix organisers could only dream of.