The FIA has confirmed that the rules on off-throttle b☂lown diffusers will revert to those in place for the European Grand Prix for the remainꦇder of the 2011 F1 season.

The governing body had planned to ban the device at Silverstone only for a number of teams to lobby against the changes. The FIA then said it would reverse the ban if teams could agree on the matter, with lengthy discussions eventually ending in agree🎃ment being reached.

In a Q&a𝓰mp;A released today [Thursday], the FIA has now confirmed that the rules in place for the rest💞 of 2011 will be those used in Valencia - which will mean a ban on changing engine maps between qualifying and races remains in place.

The Q&A, reproduced below, also gives a thorough insight into the situation that first developed at t💎he Spanish Grand Prix before coming to a he꧅ad at Silverstone...

Q:
This issue arose shortly before t🌺he Spanish Grand Prix. Was it initiated by the FIA or did it come from an F1 te🧔am?

A:
The matter was initiated by the FIA when facts concerning some quite extreme, and hitherto unseen, engine mapping began to emerge. We were concerned that exhaꦅust tailpipes were being position💙ed and engine maps created with the primary objective of improving in the aerodynamic performance of the car. Prior to that it had been assumed that any aerodynamic benefits were incidental to the primary purpose of the engine and its exhausts, i.e. that of generating torque.

Q:
Why did you decide to act?

A:
We decided to act as, not only did we consider such extreme mapping to be arguably illegal, but also if such 𒈔freedom was left unchecked it would result in the teams incurring significant further development costs during the season.

Q:
Is the off-throttle blown diffuser illegal 🃏under the 2011 technical regulations?

A:
We certainly coღnsider them to be questionable, however, the key is whether or not we consider any particular engine map to have been created for any other reason than the generation of engine to𝐆rque.

Q:
Is its il♕legality an unforeseen side-effect of the rule to ban F-Ducts?

A:
No, the two are unconnected.

Q:
Why was it not possible to simple introduce blanket limits on hot ꦰand cold-blowing and apply them equally to every car?

A:
This is precisely what we attempted to do in the first communication to the teams on 12 May. However, it soon became apparent that the matter was more complex than initially thought. The main problem was the difficulty of ensuring that teams were not prevented from using existing legitim꧂ate strategies whilst ensuring that the extreme mapping was no longer possible. This is why we postponed the introduction of the measures until the British Grand Prix.

There are also a number of other mech✅anical factors to take into ac🍌count such as the architecture of the engine throttles themselves (butterfly or barrel operation).

Q:
What were🦹 the measures that were introduced for the European Grand Prix in Valencia?

A:
Whilst examining the engine maps from several teams it became clear that extreme solutions were being used for short times in qualifying a💃nd then being changed for more durable solutions for the race. The felt that this was certainly against the spirit of the parc ferme regulations but, more importantly, the relevant regulatio💜ns simply do not allow changes to be made whilst the cars were being held under parc ferme conditions, connections to the car may be made and electronic units freely accessed, however, no changes to the set-up of the car can be made.

We therefore informed the teams on 14 June that we would𝕴 take these measures in Valencia, this was done and cars run accordingly with very few difficulties.

Q:
W🍬hy was the matter still being discussed over the weekend of the British Grand Prix, and why did the clarification change from Friday to Saturday?

A:
The matter was still being discussed because one engine manufacturer (Renault Sport) was reluctant t♐o run with the settings we had imposed and continued to try and convince us that they would require alternative settings in order to maintain their perfect reliability record. At the last minute additional information was provided to us which we felt would be hard to refuse having already made a small concession to another manufacturer (Mercedes Benz HPE).

However, 𝄹further discussions on Friday evening and Saturday morning resulted in us deciding that we had 🐠conceded too much and, to be fair to the manufacturers who had presented cars in what we considered the correct configuration, we should revert to the specification we had specified in our note to the teams on 20 June. This is how all teams then ran on Saturday and Sunday in Silverstone.

Q:
What was the purpose of holding two Tec🐽hnical Working Group meetings in Silverstone?

A:
Following the events of Friday the FIA President felt that it would be usefu🤪l to have an open discussion in order to see if consensus could be reached. Following these two mee🤡tings there was unanimous agreement among the teams to revert to the engine mapping regime used in Valencia, i.e. freedom on settings but no changes to the maps between qualifying and race.

This was felt to be the most s♔ensible solution to a very complicated matter as the possibility of finding an alternative solution, which woulꦜd be fair to all engine manufacturers, was becoming increasingly unlikely.

Q:
If 💃the FIA had not acted, would there have been a 🦹protest?

A:
A♚s all the teams had reached consensus ther𝓀e would have been no point in doing so.

Q:
Has the matter now been settled?

A:
Yes, and all cars wil♍l run under 'Valencia' conditions for the remainder of the season.

Q:
Are t꧃here likely to be any protests now that t🗹his matter seems to have been settled?

A:
We are optimistic that there will be no protests over any engine mapping and exhaust tail🃏pipe issues this season. In addition to the main part of the agreement reached in the TWG meetings it was also agreed that no team would raise a protest🦋 against another on these matters for the rest of the season.

Q:
What will happen in 2012 and beyond?

A:
The teams have alrea♒dy agreed to strict constraints on exhaust tailpipe position which will result in them exiting the bodywork much higher up and no longer in the vicinity of the diffuser. Therefore, any aerodynamic benefit from෴ exhaust gas flow over bodywork will be kept to an absolute minimum.

Engine mapping will remain free (within the existing constraints of the FIA SECU) as, with the exhaust tailpipes in this new position, it is felt t🍒hat any aerodynamic benefit will now be incidental to their primary purpose.