Technical rows part of the game - Domenicali

Stefano Domenicali insists that a new technical row will not threaten the harmony of the formula one teams’ alliance FOTA.

After Red Bull dominated qualifying in Melbourne last Saturday, McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh suggested the RB6 might be hiding a controversial adjustable ride-height system.

But Red Bull’s Christian Horner hit back by issuing an "absolute guarantee" that Whitmarsh, who is also the new FOTA chairman, is wrong.

Tension between those two teams was already high, after Horner blew the lid on McLaren’s ’F-duct’ innovation that is now in the process of being imitated by many in pitlane.

FOTA, then headed by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, survived last year’s double diffuser row, but in 2009 their harmony was arguably tied together by the bitter political war with the FIA.

But with that war over, Ferrari boss Domenicali was asked if the new scuffles might now threaten FOTA’s unity.

"On the technical side, I have nothing to say, because the Federation (FIA) must be the arbiter in these situations," the Italian is quoted as saying by Tuttosport.

But he added: "It is part of the sport — putting pressure on the other teams and what they’re doing," added Domenicali. "It’s just a part of the game."