Formula 1 News

Briatore: “Ground effects, suddenly all legal” 

"It is impossible to recover the ground we have lost."

Renault’s managing director Flavio Briatore, is still disappointed with the FIA International Court of Appeal’s decision to approve the double-decker diffusers on the Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota single-seaters.

“Winning the appeals is almost impossible even if we are sure that Brawn GP’s, Toyota’s and Williams’ rear diffusers are not legal. After Ayrton Senna’s death the principle was to not give certain ground effects to the cars, but now suddenly it’s all legal,” Briatore was quoted as saying to Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The drivers in our teams have been and are world champions, while the championship is now fought between a driver who was almost retired and another one, who is a good guy, but a paracarro [Italian saying for being as slow as a milepost at the side of a road],” continued the Italian.

“I don’t know where credibility has ended up with all this. It is impossible to recover the ground we have lost on those teams. In three or four races the championship will be decided and I don’t know what the interest of the TV viewers will be when Button has 60 points and Nakajima 50. It will be better to listen only on radio and watch something else,” he added.

Briatore is unhappy with the outcome of the appeal also because the current situation is in contrast with the cost-cutting measures. “Just when there’s talk of setting a budget cap to 30 million, we’ve spent 15m for KERS and 10m more for the diffusers. We’re left with five to travel and to pay the employees.”