Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull have confirmed they are to pursue their case against three of their rivals, Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams, with the hearing to take place in Paris on April 14.

A FIA statement read: "The FIA's International Court of Appeal (ICA) has received appeals from National Sporting Authorities in Austria, France and Italy on behalf of Red Bull Racing, ING Renault F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro against the stewards' decisions at the Grand Prix of Australia to reject the protests lodged regarding the diffusers used by some competitors."

A furore that had been brewing all week came to a head on Thursday when the stewards presiding over the race at Melbourne's Albert Park rejected the protest lodged by Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull.

The trio believed Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams had failed to adhere to the regulations regarding the design of their diffuser, a key aerodynamic component that governs the airflow beneath a car.

But after a six-hour hearing, the stewards rejected the complaint, only for the aggrieved parties to serve notice of their intent to appeal within minutes.

As that has now been confirmed, it means Sunday's result and of next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix will be subject to the appeal should any of the six diffuser cars finish in the points.

If Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull win their case, the independent judges will then have two options open to them.

They could allow to stand the results of the first two races, with the three teams concerned being forced to amend their cars from the Chinese GP onwards, or they could make null and void any points won in Australia and Malaysia.

It became apparent on Saturday that the 'diffuser three' have an advantage with their design as they claimed six of the top seven fastest times in practice.