It was Williams who pushed the FIA to clamp down on ever-sophisticated blown exhaust solutions.
That is the claim of Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, amid earlier suspicions that Virgin had complained loudest as they fall behind in the crucial new area of F1 car development.

In June, the off-throttle blowing of exhaust gases will be limited by 90 per cent, and Autosprint in Italy claims exhaust-blown diffusers could be banned altogether for the start of 2012.

There is no doubt the FIA crackdown was motivated by a team, and the early suspect was Virgin. “But it was Williams,” a report by Auto Motor und Sport said.

“A ban … would have affected us less than the leading teams because we … are quite a long way behind on the engine mapping side,” Virgin team boss John Booth admitted to Reuters.

It emerges that Cosworth, engine supplier to both Williams and Virgin, is struggling to keep up with its rivals in the area of off-throttle engine mapping.

Red Bull’s Adrian Newey said the ban will affect all the top teams more or less equally.

“Everyone has this technology and the exhaust solutions are very similar,” he said. “I cannot tell you whether the ban will be a relative advantage or a disadvantage (for Red Bull),” he added.

“It doesn’t affect only the engine suppliers, we have to react on the chassis side too. If the exhaust gases can’t flow consistently any more, it will have a significant influence on the balance,” said Newey.

Also disappointed is Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn.

“The teams and engine manufacturers have invested a lot of money in this technology that is now thrown out of the window,” he said.