Formula 1 governing body the FIA has brought an end to the controversy surrounding Red Bull's floor design, forcing the current World Champions to remove the holes that sit in front of the RB8's rear wheels ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Ferrari and McLaren were amongst a number of teams to voice their concerns over the interpretation in Monaco, later threatening to protest. However, despite Mark Webber's victory, nothing was lodged by rival squads and the result stood.
The FIA has since reassessed the situation and declared the holes as a breach of the regulations. This was outlined in the pre-Canada technical directive, issued to all teams prior to the race.
"Following on from a number of discussions in Monaco, during which it became clear that certain misunderstandings existed, we feel it would be helpful to make our position clear with respect to the presence of a fully enclosed hole in any surface lying on the step plane," the technical directive (codenamed TD/013-12) explains.
"It has been argued that, as it is not explicitly stated that fully enclosed holes cannot be located in a surface lying on the step plane rearward of a line 450mm forward of the rear face of the cockpit template, then they may be located in such areas. We disagree with this view and consider it implicit that fully enclosed holes may not be located there.
"If they were permitted the opening part of the second paragraph of Article 3.12.5 (which was added to the regulations at the same time as Articles 3.12.9 and 3.12.10 for 2011) would be superfluous.
"Furthermore, locating a fully enclosed hole partly or wholly within the 50mm band which is exempt from the requirements of Article 3.12.10 along the outer edges of the surfaces lying on the step plane does not exempt it from the requirements of Article 3.12.5, those parts lying outboard of Y650 are still parts of the surfaces lying on the step plane."
As Webber's Monaco victory was not protested, his and the team's previous 2012 results will remain in place, but the outfit must make prompt changes to its floor.
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