Although most of those at the 'coal face' are unwilling to go 'on the record', it is a fact that Spyker lodged a protest regarding the legality of the Super Aguri SA07. However, with the legality issue being a matter of law it will now go to arbitration.

Speaking in Melbourne after qualifying Spyker team boss Colin Kolles said that he is utterly convinced that the Super Aguri SA07 is the same as the Honda RA106 and therefore in breach of the Concorde Agreement.

Kolles sought official clarification from the scrutineers and they admitted that they were unable to rule on such a decision as it relates to an interpretation of the Concorde Agreement, to which they are not privy. Furthermore, any protest of the Super Aguri should have been lodged within two hours of scrutineering, however, due to the fact that the SA07 was only 'launched' on Wednesday, it took time for Kolles and his team to acquire enough 'evidence'.

"The situation is that we had a meeting with the scrutineers and they basically confirmed to us that it is not a matter of the FIA," he told reporters, "it is a matter of the Concorde Agreement."

Asked if this means the matter will go to arbitration, Kolles said: "This is as I see it."

Although it was known that protests would be launched this weekend, the situation was not helped when Super Aguri out-qualified not only Spyker, but also Williams and Honda. In this morning's free practice session Anthony Davidson finished fourth on the timesheets.

Williams has remained quiet thus far this weekend, with many believing that the English team will wait until after the race before making its move.

Despite some of the more sensational speculation in the media, Pitpass reported on Thursday that a high level source had informed it that the Australian Grand Prix weekend would not be disrupted.

Kolles this morning admitted that Bernie Ecclestone had proposed that neither Super Aguri or Toro Rosso should qualify for Constructors' Championship points, an issue that many, including Frank Williams and Patrick Head have questioned for some time.

We fully agree with Bernie's proposal," said Kolles. "We have a Constructors' Championship. It says you have to manufacture your car. This qualifies you to be a constructor. Bernie says that only constructors belong in this championship."

Once the legal stuff begins in earnest, it is thought that Spyker will also seek a ruling regarding not only the Super Aguri, but the Toro Rosso and the Red Bull, both of which are built by a third party - Red Bull Technologies. There is even talk that Kolles could seek a ruling on the 2006 Toro Rosso, which was the Red Bull, itself based on the proposed Jaguar design for 2005.