Motorsport's governing body is poised to decide whether the Brawn GP car, which has taken Jenson Button to two wins this season, is legal.
A panel heard eight hours of strongly worded evidence on Tuesday after complaints that Brawn, Toyota and Williams, use an illegal diffuser.
The teams insist their designs are within the limits of the sport's rules.
And the issue, which could have a major bearing on the title race, should be settled with a ruling on Wednesday.
The five International Court of Appeal judges in Paris heard evidence from both sides, with Ferrari's legal representative, Nigel Tozzi QC, describing Brawn GP team boss Ross Brawn as "a person of supreme arrogance".
Brawn defended himself robustly and insisted his team's diffuser was simply "an innovative approach of an existing idea".
And Brawn's criticism of Ferrari consultant Rory Bryne and Red Bull technical guru Adrian Newey saw sparks fly in the courtroom, with the Englishman refusing to retract his statements.
FIA technical director Charlie Whiting also faced a grilling, facing accusations that his organisation are "getting it wrong, and not understanding the point".
The row broke out when Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull protested against the legality of the split-level diffusers on the eve of the season-opening grand prix in Australia, but race stewards in Melbourne rejected their claims.
BMW Sauber then had a similar protest rejected at the Malaysian Grand Prix while McLaren have recently added their weight to the official protest.
Speaking from outside FIA headquarters in Paris, BBC sports news reporter Joe Wilson said: "Rear diffusers this season were supposed to get smaller, but Brawn and a couple of other teams have ended up with bigger ones, exploiting a little loophole in the laws.
"An independent panel of judges, looking at things with a legal mind, may just uphold this appeal - though there will be widespread surprise, if not shock, if Brawn end up losing their points this season."
The protesting teams say the split-level design contravenes a rule that states the diffuser - an aerodynamic body part which aids performance - must have an upper edge that runs in a horizontal straight line.
They also believe the design is negating the main aim of this season's new rule changes, which is to make overtaking easier.
The split-level diffusers generate more downforce at the rear of the car, resulting in a clear performance advantage of around 0.5 seconds per lap.
If the protestors win their appeal the FIA has two options.
It could allow the results of the first two races to stand, with the three teams concerned being forced to alter their cars from Sunday's Chinese GP onwards, or they could remove any points won by those teams in Australia and Malaysia.
Brawn tight-lipped after diffuser hearing
British driver Button - who insists his car is "100% legal" - won both and his team lead the constructors' championship with 25 points, ahead of Toyota on 16.5 points.
The other eight teams have only 17 points between them and Ferrari, the reigning constructors' champions, are yet to get off the mark.
Prior to the hearing, Brawn said he was optimistic the Court of Appeal would agree with the race stewards and sanction the split-level diffuser design.
"I would just be surprised if the appeal court can make judgements on technicalities - it's quite a complex technical matter," he told BBC Sport.
"You can't be 100% confident but I hope common sense prevails on their side."
If the judges rule the diffusers are legal, then the seven teams who are running without the split-level diffusers are expected to try to incorporate the design into their cars as soon as possible.
Setting about such a radical redesign with the season under way will not be easy.
Many of the teams running with regular diffusers argue the cost of making the changes is too great, especially during a climate of cost-cutting within the sport in the face of the global economic crisis.
"I've heard several of them complaining about the cost," said Brawn.
"But there are lots of things teams copy from each other and the cost doesn't get debated.
"I think some teams will be able to do it very quickly, but for other teams it will be more difficult because of their suspension configuration or other elements of the car."
Whichever way the judges rule in Paris, the outcome of the hearing is likely to have a significant effect on the season.
"The championship could be more or less decided," warned Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso.
"If the diffusers are legal, then the Brawns are going to be nearly unreachable for any other team."
The ruling is expected on Wednesday, although the full findings are not set to be released until later in the week.
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