FIA to cite BAR for damaging F1 image?

Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has hinted that it may pursue further action against the BAR-Honda team following its exclusion from the San Marino Grand Prix on technical grounds.

Apparently not satisfied with seeing the Brackley team stripped of the third and fifth places it earned at Imola, and the two-race ban that keeps it out of both the Spanish and Monaco rounds, the FIA is investigating whether or not BAR can be accused of bringing the sport into disrepute by running a fuel system that fell outside the regulations.

Responding to a statement issued by the five engine manufacturers involved in the sport - including BAR partner Honda - the governing body replied with an announcement of its own, containing a paragraph relating to it latest investigation.

"Statements attributed to the management of BAR Honda are currently under investigation in the light of the team's obligation to do nothing 'prejudicial to the image and dignity of Formula One racing' or 'prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally," it read.

The five manufacturers were announcing the formation of a new association to represent its interests in the sport and, feasibly, to conduct the next phase of its proposed breakaway from the F1 series. However, despite references to the proposed use of FIA-spec V8 engines for the next three seasons, it was mention of the 'events of the past week' that most attracted the attention of the powers that be.

Offended by suggestions that its court system wasn't necessarily fair, the governing body responded by pointing out that the teams and manufacturers knew that they would have to abide by the rules when entering Formula One, and that, while it remained the rulemaker, it would police the sport in its own way.

"The FIA will continue rigorously to enforce the rules of Formula One," the FIA statement replied, "It will also continue to allow competitors access to a Court of Appeal whose standing and independence has repeatedly been recognised by the civil courts, most recently (March 2005) by the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris.

"No manufacturer, however large, will be allowed a concealed or unfair advantage. Those unable or unwilling to accept this have no place in Formula One. They should also understand that any sport is likely to impose further sanctions on a competitor which attacks the integrity of the governing body when caught breaking the rules.

"The manufacturers concerned came into Formula One for their own reasons. They were not invited - they invited themselves. Each of them accepted the rules and structures of the sport as they had done on many previous occasions."

It remains to be seen whether the FIA decides to press charges and, if so, what further punishment BAR could face. The governing body had originally called for the team to be struck from this year's championship and hit with a heavy fine, before the court of appeal decided on its lesser judgement.