Sauber has announced its intention to appeal its exclusion from the result's of today's Australian GP.

Both drivers for the Swiss team, which finished seventh and eighth, were subsequently disqualified after it was deemed the team failed to adhere to articles 3.10.1 and 3.10.2 of the technical regulations, which relate to the rear wing.

The team has subsequently issued the following: "In conformity with Art. 1 and Art. 17 of the Code of Procedures and Rules of the FIA International Court of Appeal ("ICA Rules") we, Sauber F1 Team, holder of a 2011 FIA Superlicense, in our capacity as Competitor, hereby lodge a statement of intention to appear against decision number 55 of the Stewards of the meeting, which was received (sic) at 21:33 today."

"This is a very surprising and disappointing result," said James Key, the Swiss outfit's technical director. "It appears that there is a question over the top surface of the uppermost rear wing element, this area is not the working surface of the component and therefore relatively unimportant to its function.

"Certainly this has not lead to any performance advantage," he added. "We are checking the design of the parts now to better understand the situation and we intend to appeal the decision made by the stewards."