What an odd morning that was.
FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer took the unusual step of issuing a communication querying the legality of the RB8 and referring the matter to the stewards, a move that was widely read as a guilty verdict for the team.
But around an hour before the race was due to start, the stewards determined - in a very carefully worded statement - that the car was legal. Just.
"The stewards received a report from the FIA Technical Delegate, along with specific ECU data from Red Bull Racing Cars 1 & 2," the stewards’ report read. "The Stewards met with the team representative and the representative of the engine supplier Renault.
"While the Stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art. 5.5.3 of the Formula One Technical Regulations and therefore decide to take no further action."
What this really means is we're back in the superfun 'spirit of the regulations'* hoo-hah that last plagued us over the Brawn double diffuser back in 2009.
What is certain is that we've not heard the last of this. The FIA will be inspecting the Red Bulls with a fine-toothed comb at every scrutineering session for the rest of the season, and we'll probably see a technical directive in the not-too-distant future that 'clarifies' Article 5.5.3.
According to Autosport there's going to be a meeting of the Technical Working Group between Hockenheim and Budapest, and if this little controversy isn't high on the agenda, then I am something incredibly unlikely.
* If you're stuck for a cheap Hallowe'en costume, I came up with a genius costume in 2009. Take one sheet, cut eyeholes in it, apply badly-drawn FIA and F1 logos, and tell everyone you're the spirit of the regulations. It's a winner.
FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer took the unusual step of issuing a communication querying the legality of the RB8 and referring the matter to the stewards, a move that was widely read as a guilty verdict for the team.
But around an hour before the race was due to start, the stewards determined - in a very carefully worded statement - that the car was legal. Just.
"The stewards received a report from the FIA Technical Delegate, along with specific ECU data from Red Bull Racing Cars 1 & 2," the stewards’ report read. "The Stewards met with the team representative and the representative of the engine supplier Renault.
"While the Stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art. 5.5.3 of the Formula One Technical Regulations and therefore decide to take no further action."
What this really means is we're back in the superfun 'spirit of the regulations'* hoo-hah that last plagued us over the Brawn double diffuser back in 2009.
What is certain is that we've not heard the last of this. The FIA will be inspecting the Red Bulls with a fine-toothed comb at every scrutineering session for the rest of the season, and we'll probably see a technical directive in the not-too-distant future that 'clarifies' Article 5.5.3.
According to Autosport there's going to be a meeting of the Technical Working Group between Hockenheim and Budapest, and if this little controversy isn't high on the agenda, then I am something incredibly unlikely.
* If you're stuck for a cheap Hallowe'en costume, I came up with a genius costume in 2009. Take one sheet, cut eyeholes in it, apply badly-drawn FIA and F1 logos, and tell everyone you're the spirit of the regulations. It's a winner.
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