Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo on Tuesday expressed his hope that the diffuser controversy will be resolved quickly to ensure the credibility of the Formula One championship.
Speaking in his role as head of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), Montezemolo said ''I want there to be total clarity in regard to the interpretation of the regulations. We cannot start a championship with such important questions left unanswered''.
The problem is two-fold, the Ferrari chairman explained: ''on the one hand there is the issue of the diffusers and whether or not they are admissible. If they are legal, something which we and other teams do not believe they are, then this must be decided immediately so we can make our own adaptations''.
''If they are not legal, then we must understand how it is possible that those called upon to interpret the regulations (race stewards) do not abide by the regulations,'' he added.
Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams began the season with 'double-decker' rear diffusers which Ferrari and other teams argue are in violation of new rules and specifications aimed at reducing downforce.
Stewards at Sunday's season-opening Grand Prix in Australia allowed them and Brawn GP took first and second place.
The controversy has also created problems within FOTA between Renault principal Flavio Briatore, who handles the group's commercial interests, and Ross Brawn, who is in charge of technical questions.
According to Briatore, Brawn should have informed the other teams that there were two interpretations over the legality of the diffusers.
The international racing federation FIA said it will decide on April 14 on the appeal against the controversial diffusers.
This, however, will come more than a week after the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix.
Looking ahead to this weekend's race, Montezemolo said he expected Ferrari to show its true worth, after a pointless start in Melbourne where both cars dropped out due to mechanical problems.
''I think the first Grand Prix went much worse than we expected. There is no doubt that we and McLaren paid the price of fighting the championship out between us down to the last corner of the last race. This meant we had less time to prepare for this season, while other teams were already testing solutions last season,'' the Ferrari chairman observed.
''The fact is that this year's car is a totally new one, and not an evolution of the previous year's car,'' he added.
Looking back at Sunday's race, Montezemolo admitted that ''we made too many mistakes in Australia and now I expect to see our true worth in Malaysia. I'm convinced, in fact I know for certain, that it will be a different race on Sunday even though the cars are the same''.
''I can say this because I have the utmost confidence in the men at Ferrari. They're working on the problems and we'll see the results in Malaysia,'' the Ferrari chairman said.
