Ferrari will be forced to make 'fundamental' changes to the design of the F60 in the words of Team Principal Stefano Domenicali as the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) handed down its verdict today that the controversial splitters.

Ferrari will be forced to make 'fundamental' changes to the design of the F60 in the words of Team Principal Stefano Domenicali as the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA) handed down its verdict today that the controversial splitters used by the Brawn, Toyota and Williams teams are legal. The ICA concluded that the three teams' ‘double decker’ designs comply with the 2009 regulations.

BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault had all questioned the legality of the diffusers, but following Tuesday’s hearing in Paris, the ICA decided that race stewards in Australia and Malaysia had made the right call in declaring them legal.

Following this morning's hearing, the FIA issued a statement that read: "The FIA International Court of Appeal has decided to deny the appeals submitted against decisions numbered 16 to 24 taken by the Panel of the Stewards on 26 March at the 2009 Grand Prix of Australia and counting towards the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. Based on the arguments heard and evidence before it, the Court has concluded that the Stewards were correct to find that the cars in question comply with the applicable regulations. Full reasons for this decision will be provided in due course."

Ferrari released a statement in Maranello after the verdict was delivered. "Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has taken note of the ICA’s decision to reject the appeal placed by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro together with the ING Renault F1 Team, Red Bull Racing and the BMW Sauber F1 Team regarding the conformity of three single-seaters to the Technical Regulations."

“We are waiting to hear the reasons the ICA rejected the appeal,” commented Domenicali. “Unfortunately this decision forces us to intervene on fundamental areas of the car’s design in order to be able to compete on an equal footing with some of the teams from a point of view of the technical regulations, and that will take time and money. We will now double our efforts to get the team back to the highest level of competitivity.”