Formula One news

Horner: "No surprises at the top"

Christian Horner was not surprised to see the three 'diffuser' teams in the top seven places of final practice in Australia on Friday. Williams, Brawn GP and Toyota locked out first to seventh places, with the minor exception of Horner's driver Mark Webber in fourth position for Red Bull; the results did not come as unexpected to the Austrian squad's Team Principal.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Horner explained to Autosport after the session. "You could even say it is three tier of those with KERS and those without, and those with double-decker diffuser and those without!" Red Bull Racing - along with Ferrari and Renault - has already protested regarding the issue but unsuccessfully, as it was stood down by governing body the FIA following inspection on Thursday.

"It's a shame that the FIA has ruled that their cars are legal," Horner continued. "We obviously have the right to appeal that, but we are here to go racing and we will do the best job we possibly can do - hopefully we can be as close to the front as we can be."

He added that his team is already starting to copy the idea, in the event of another FIA hearing declaring the three teams - which individually claim to have taken advantage of a loophole in the regulations - as running cars within the regulations. "You cannot afford to wait," Horner admitted, "so effectively we have already had to start looking at alternative solutions."

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