Once again, the action happening on that lovely, "shang"-shaped track in China is not the story of the week in Formula 1.
This time, the controversy-du-jour is the FIA's decision on the rule-bending diffusers that are sported by the cars of Toyota, Williams, and the team that has taken the first two races: Brawn GP. The diffusers on these cars extend out from behind the car more than those on other teams' cars, thus creating more negative pressure under the rear of the car and more grip for the tires. The leader of the dissent was Ferrari (as they seem to be when any loophole is found in the rules...) and there were apparently some words between Ferrari designer Rory Byrne and his old co-worker and now leader of his namesake team, Ross Brawn.
After all was said and done, the FIA decided that the loophole could stay in the rules and the longer diffusers were legal. It's a bit late to see parts appear on the cars for Shanghai, but expect them to show up on the cars when they travel to Bahrain.
As for the race itself, it's so very tough to tell if Ferrari and McLaren will actually pop up and make their presence known to the upstarts at Brawn and Toyota. Lewis Hamilton showed very strongly in the first practice with the fastest time, but he dropped all the way down to 13th in practice two. Practice times are tough to pick out because we don't know what fuel loads the teams are running or if they are in qualifying or race trim, but that inconsistency does not bode well.
On the other hand, the models of consistency that are Brawn GP are riding high with the 2nd and 3rd fastest times in practice one and the 1st and 3rd times in practice two. As hard as it is to believe their success coming from the ashes of Honda, I'll have to say Jenson Button and Brawn GP are going to ride the top step at Shanghai.
Race is deep in the night Saturday night/Sunday morning on the Speed Channel. I haven't checked, but I'm sure there's a replay coming Sunday afternoon. (DVR it so you can watch Long Beach, though...)
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