Motor sport News round-upThe Formula One governing body is considering a plan to strip down one of the top eight finishers at every race, to discourage the type of rule infringement which yesterday had the BAR team stripped of its points and banned from the next two races.
"We are now considering whether we should choose one car among the points-scorers at each race and take it to bits, and maybe we should," Max Mosley, president of the FIA, said yesterday. "It would be 7 to 1 against being caught every time you do it." Mosley's comments came as BAR-Honda said they were considering whether to apply for an injunction through the civil courts to allow them to compete in this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
Yesterday the FIA appeal court retrospectively disqualified them from the San Marino race and suspended them from the Spanish event and the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix on May 22th. The team also incurred a suspended six-month ban which could be triggered at any time over the remainder of the season should the team infringe any rules on another occasion.
The punishment came after a fuel irregularity was discovered in Jenson Button's car which finished third in the San Marino Grand Prix. The British driver loses the six points he gained from that event and his team-mate, Takuma Sato, loses his four points for fifth place. The team forfeit their total of 10 constructors' points.
The FIA found a concealed fuel tank on the car into which fuel could be pumped late in the race and remain during inspection to bring the car up to the minimum 600kg weight. For most of the race it would have been underweight and therefore able to lap faster.
Nick Fry, the BAR team principal, said they were "appalled" by the punishment meted out by the four-man court in Paris and were debating with their legal team as to their next step.
"We need to get some papers together today," said Fry. "I think if there is to be a hearing in court it will take place tomorrow. Our plan at the moment is to stay here. It's all in the hands of the legal experts; we've got the best people available working on this and they need to advise me."
However, Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights holder, said BAR should not seek a remedy in the courts. "I think they would be silly to do that," he said. "I think it would be bad for them. Other people might think they admitted they infringed the regulations. Anyone else is going to say they were warned at the start of the championship, they decided to ignore it. I wouldn't want to go to a civil court personally. I think it's a big risk."
Mosley outlined his plan to take one of the top finishers from each grand prix and subject the cars to a strip search. "The downside would be the amount of time this would take after the race and the consequent delay in confirming the race results," he said.
The court of appeal stopped short of excluding BAR-Honda from the 2005 world championship and imposing a fine of at least €1 million, as requested by the FIA, a decision which prompted Mosley to express the view that the team had got off lightly.
The court also did not endorse the FIA's contention that BAR had committed a fraudulent act in concealing the details of an apparently hidden fuel tank on Button's car, but concluded that the team had displayed "a highly regrettable negligence and lack of transparency".
AMENDED STANDINGS: Drivers' Points: 1. F Alonso (Renault) 36; 2. J Trulli (Toyota) 20; 3. G Fisichella (Renault) 10; 4. M Schumacher (Ferrari) 10; 5. N Heidfeld (Williams) 9; 6. R Schumacher (Toyota) 9; 7. D Coulthard (Red Bull) 9; 8. M Webber (Williams) 9; 9. R Barrichello (Ferrari) 8; 10. J P Montoya (McLaren) 8; 11. K Raikkonen (McLaren) 7; 12. A Wurz (McLaren) 6; 13. J Villeneuve (Sauber) 5; 14. P de la Rosa (McLaren) 4; 15. C Klien (Red Bull) 3; 16. F Massa (Sauber) 2; 17. V Liuzzi (Red Bull) 1; 18. T Monteiro (Jordan) 0; 19. N Karthikeyan (Jordan) 0; 20. J Button (BAR) 0; 21. P Friesacher (Minardi) 0; 22. C Albers (Minardi) 0; 23. T Sato (BAR) 0.
Constructors Points: 1. Renault 46; 2. Toyota 29; 3. McLaren - Mercedes 25; 4. Ferrari 18; 5. Williams - BMW 18; 6. Red-Bull - Cosworth 13; 7. Sauber - Petronas ;7 8. Jordan - Toyota 0; 9. BAR - Honda 0; 10. Minardi - Cosworth 0.
