Ecclestone criticizes Vettel penalty

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -BMW added its name Saturday to the list of Formula One teams protesting against the diffusers on the cars of Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota.

BMW intended to lodge a protest but missed the cutoff during the season-opening race in Australia, where Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault protested a stewards' decision to allow the three teams to race.

The protest was denied and the teams appealed to the FIA's International Court of Appeal, with a hearing on the legality of the diffusers set for April 14.

Having missed out in Australia, BMW made an official protest in Malaysia on Saturday.

"The protest is purely a formal matter,'' BMW told Autosport. "It is intended to ensure that the result in Malaysia is also taken into consideration in the judge's decision in the appeal proceedings on 14th April.''

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GRID PENALTY: Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has criticized a grid penalty against Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, saying it was "wrong'' and may discourage drivers from engaging in wheel-to-wheel duels.

Vettel was punished after colliding with BMW's Robert Kubica in the Australian Grand Prix last weekend with the two drivers running second and third with only four laps to go. It ended their races and brought out the safety car.

Vettel was fined $50,000 by race stewards for continuing around the track on three wheels. He also incurred a 10-place grid penalty for the Malaysian Grand Prix and will start 13th after qualifying in third on Saturday.

"It was wrong,'' Ecclestone was quoted as saying by German magazine Auto Motor and Sport.

"The poor guy (Vettel) is punished for an accident. He lost third place. If the rule is that you get punished for a collision with another driver, then soon we will have no more fights. We want to see more wheel-to-wheel duels, not less,'' he said.

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ENGINE CHANGE: All the Formula One teams except McLaren and Toro Rosso elected to change their engines for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Unlike last year, there is no penalty for teams changing their engines after a single race.

However, each car is allowed only eight engines throughout the season, and it must be used on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the race weekend, rather than just the Saturday and Sunday prescribed in previous seasons.

Use of a ninth engine will result in a grid penalty.

Meanwhile, BMW decided Saturday to again split the use of its KERS energy-boost system. As in Melbourne, Nick Heidfeld's car will use KERS, while Robert Kubica will not.

The decision was largely based on the weight differential between the two, with the lighter Heidfeld able to use the weighty KERS device, which stores energy from braking in a battery and is then deployed as a power boost for up to 6.7 seconds per lap.

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PERFECT STORM: Teams and drivers are bracing for stormy conditions at Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Malaysia's weather forecast predicts afternoon thunderstorms on Sunday, raising the specter of the first abandonment of a race in 18 years if track conditions become extremely perilous.

A storm hit the Sepang circuit less than an hour after qualifying Saturday, lashing it with rain and turning the sky black. With the race to start at 5 p.m. local time, a similar storm could prove hazardous.

The last time a race was abandoned due to weather was the 1991 Australian Grand Prix, which was halted after 14 out of 81 laps scheduled because of heavy rain and a flooded track.