[Autumnpuma]

Mar.12 (GMM)

Jean Todt on Friday ruled out stepping in to end F1's new 'knee-gate' controversy.

The FIA's Charlie Whiting this week declared legal an innovation on the 2010 McLaren that gives Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button a straight-line advantage.

It is believed the drivers use their left knees to shut off airflow in order to 'stall' the rear wing of the car.

Some teams - including Red Bull, Ferrari, Renault and Williams - believe the design contravenes the rules about moveable aerodynamic devices, even though the only moving part is the driver's body.

'Spirit of the regulations' or not, the situation means teams will now deploy resources to also exploit the loophole.

"Everyone is going to go and do it, no one will have an advantage, we will go and spend loads of money -- and for what?" new team Lotus' technical boss Mike Gascoyne told PA.

But at the Sakhir circuit, FIA president Todt said he had confidence in Whiting's ruling.

"I think they did a very good job. I totally trust the people that have to judge it," added the Frenchman.

Todt also told reporters that he is "very in favour" of reinstating a 107 per cent qualifying rule in formula one, but admitted that it might have to wait until 2011.

---

I'm liking Todt more and more. This is just what I would have done in his place. Trust the people under you to do their job and deal with this when, and if, it is protested. I would wager Max would also have taken this stance, but he would probably have inserted some pithy phrase to unofficially encourage teams to protest it.

I also agree that we should have a 107 percent rule back again considering the large amounts of new, and slow, teams out there. Yes, it will cause the newer teams to spend more to be within that rule, but the alternative is them becoming moving chicanes on race day.

[maurethegreat2]

Nobody has ever predicted knee-gate before !

[The Professor]

I can't remember seeing a bad decision yet from Todt.

I think Mclaren's innovation is brilliant and Todt is right to trust Whiting's decision on this one. It is quite clearly within the regulations, perhaps unlike with the Brawn last year where there was room for argument and interpretation iirc. I think anybody (some of the teams) arguing that the driver is a moveable aero device is really clutching at straws.

[Jean Todt]

mikathegreat2, on 12 March 2010 - 11:04 PM, said:

Nobody has ever predicted knee-gate before !

I would have called it d#ck-gate, because the hole is also designed to cool the drivers' "$£%&

[Quiet One]

Nivola, on 12 March 2010 - 11:07 PM, said:

I think anybody (some of the teams) arguing that the driver is a moveable aero device is really clutching at straws.

Tell that to Kubica.

[The Professor]

Quiet One, on 12 March 2010 - 11:12 PM, said:

Tell that to Kubica.

Bazinga!

[Jean Todt]

[HandyNZL]

My Lola has a hole in the nose body work, and I can't block it with my knee, but the air does cool my c#ck

[Jean Todt]

HandyNZL, on 12 March 2010 - 11:38 PM, said:

My Lola has a hole in the nose body work, and I can't block it with my knee, but the air does cool my c#ck

A plug would be Handy...

This post has been edited by Jean Todt: 12 March 2010 - 11:48 PM

[HandyNZL]

You calling me a plug? :S

[Autumnpuma]

Nivola, on 12 March 2010 - 11:07 PM, said:

I can't remember seeing a bad decision yet from Todt.

Didn't he hire Eddie Irvine?

Jean Todt, on 12 March 2010 - 11:12 PM, said:

I would have called it d#ck-gate, because the hole is also designed to cool the drivers' "$£%&

HandyNZL, on 12 March 2010 - 11:38 PM, said:

My Lola has a hole in the nose body work, and I can't block it with my knee, but the air does cool my c#ck

Are you driving in a kilt? Anyway, we all know that hole is for p!ssing into.

[The Professor]

Autumnpuma, on 13 March 2010 - 12:11 AM, said:

Didn't he hire Eddie Irvine?

Well, I forgot about that.

[Autumnpuma]

Nivola, on 13 March 2010 - 12:37 AM, said:

Well, I forgot about that.

I bet we all wish we could forget about that....

[Sato]

Why the talk about the 107% rule?

HRT are the only team who weren't within 107% in the first two practices, and they'd barely done a lap. Virgin and Lotus are well inside it.

EDIT: HRT might have got into it actually.

This post has been edited by Sato: 13 March 2010 - 05:06 AM

[Insider]

The 'Knee-gate' controversy is only an issue because the FOTA technical steering group allegedly agreed, pre-season, in an effort to curb R&D costs not to develop that area of the 2010 cars. Once again, the phrase, 'Spirit of the regulations' has surfaced. Didn't anyone learn a lesson last year with Brawn's double diffuser? Yet another taboo innovation stream for FOTA. What made it worse was that Ross Brawn chaired the steering group. This is a bloody, cut-throat business where a tenth of a second is worth a million dollars and the competitors spy on each other, at some considerable cost, 24 hours a day. It's a world where young pretenders may have to pay up to $30m a season to prove their worth and King's ransoms regularly speed their way into the cyber vaults off offshore banking, in exchange for seemingly innocuous, illicit technical titbits. FOTA is a toothless facade which was birthed as a symbol of unity when Mad Max threatened to take F1 back into the Stone Age. A team's gotta do what a team's gotta do. FOTA headnods and handshakes are not of the stuff FIA regulations are made off. Charlie called it right and Jean let his man do his job. Ethics and honour won't feed the wolves.

[maurethegreat2]

HandyNZL, on 12 March 2010 - 11:38 PM, said:

My Lola has a hole in the nose body work, and I can't block it with my knee, but the air does cool my c#ck

Boner-gate!!

[freaky2]

Knee-gate, now that name should go down in history, just because it's so absurd! On the rest, I agree with Todt, despite what we (at least me) feared he's doing a fine job.

[JHS]

Welcome back F1, first race, first argument. It's like you've enver been away!

[Autumnpuma]

Sato, on 13 March 2010 - 05:05 AM, said:

Why the talk about the 107% rule?

HRT are the only team who weren't within 107% in the first two practices, and they'd barely done a lap. Virgin and Lotus are well inside it.

EDIT: HRT might have got into it actually.

Welcome back! Hindsight is a marvelous thing, but all indications were that we may have needed the rule this season. Like all things, speculation goes out the window once an event has happened.

Insider, on 13 March 2010 - 07:24 AM, said:

The 'Knee-gate' controversy is only an issue because the FOTA technical steering group allegedly agreed, pre-season, in an effort to curb R&D costs not to develop that area of the 2010 cars. Once again, the phrase, 'Spirit of the regulations' has surfaced. Didn't anyone learn a lesson last year with Brawn's double diffuser? Yet another taboo innovation stream for FOTA. What made it worse was that Ross Brawn chaired the steering group. This is a bloody, cut-throat business where a tenth of a second is worth a million dollars and the competitors spy on each other, at some considerable cost, 24 hours a day. It's a world where young pretenders may have to pay up to $30m a season to prove their worth and King's ransoms regularly speed their way into the cyber vaults off offshore banking, in exchange for seemingly innocuous, illicit technical titbits. FOTA is a toothless facade which was birthed as a symbol of unity when Mad Max threatened to take F1 back into the Stone Age. A team's gotta do what a team's gotta do. FOTA headnods and handshakes are not of the stuff FIA regulations are made off. Charlie called it right and Jean let his man do his job. Ethics and honour won't feed the wolves.

Truer words...

freaky2, on 13 March 2010 - 10:29 AM, said:

Knee-gate, now that name should go down in history, just because it's so absurd! On the rest, I agree with Todt, despite what we (at least me) feared he's doing a fine job.

Every bad thing is a 'gate'. That's perhaps Nixon's worst legacy. I am liking Todt as FIA chairman far more than I ever did as Ferrari principal. Introducing a driver's point-of-view as a 4th steward was a brilliant idea.

This post has been edited by Autumnpuma: 14 March 2010 - 07:50 AM

[Sato]

Sorry didn't realise this was posted prior to the practice sessions... On other forums and site I use people have been talking about it during and after though, so I guess it made it easier for me just to assume you had too

[dribbler]

If I hear one more 'gate' phrase I'm gonna punch someone. And if I hear 'credit crunch', 'SuBo', 'WAG's', 'Doof-doof' and anything to do with Cheryl f*cking Cole.

[freaky2]

Autumnpuma, on 14 March 2010 - 07:50 AM, said:

Every bad thing is a 'gate'. That's perhaps Nixon's worst legacy. I am liking Todt as FIA chairman far more than I ever did as Ferrari principal. Introducing a driver's point-of-view as a 4th steward was a brilliant idea.

Are knees bad? That's what I meant with the absurd name

dribbler, on 14 March 2010 - 09:14 AM, said:

If I hear one more 'gate' phrase I'm gonna punch someone. And if I hear 'credit crunch', 'SuBo', 'WAG's', 'Doof-doof' and anything to do with Cheryl f*cking Cole.

Actually I saw Cheryl f*cking Cole on TV the other day and hated Ben because I actually recognised her... (But punch him, not me )

[Insider]

dribbler, on 14 March 2010 - 09:14 AM, said:

If I hear one more 'gate' phrase I'm gonna punch someone. And if I hear 'credit crunch', 'SuBo', 'WAG's', 'Doof-doof' and anything to do with Cheryl f*cking Cole.

Rock on.

[adamstrags]

dribbler, on 14 March 2010 - 09:14 AM, said:

If I hear one more 'gate' phrase I'm gonna punch someone.

stay tuned folks - 'punchgate' coming up.

[Jean Todt]

adamstrags, on 14 March 2010 - 10:16 AM, said:

stay tuned folks - 'punchgate' coming up.

Followed by 'bloodgate'

[Kopite Girl]

dribbler, on 14 March 2010 - 09:14 AM, said:

If I hear one more 'gate' phrase I'm gonna punch someone. And if I hear 'credit crunch', 'SuBo', 'WAG's', 'Doof-doof' and anything to do with Cheryl f*cking Cole.

You can add Jordan, Peter f*cking Andre, John Terry, 'Schumacher is just another good driver' 'Button was outclassed by his team-mate', my idiot brother's voice, and stupid f*cking f*ckwits staring at me cause... well, my hair, i swear i will go through someone myself.