After BAR-Honda announced that it would not be contesting its two-race ban, the FIA has announced that it would be studying the team’s comments to determine whether it could be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.
After BAR-Honda announced that it would not be contesting its two-race ban, the FIA has announced that it would be studying the team’s comments to determine whether it could be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.
The FIA ban followed the discovery that the car, which Jenson Button steered to third place in the San Marino Grand Prix in April, was underweight.
While BAR had initially planned to appeal against last week’s judgement, it opted to question the severity of the punishment instead.
“We felt the punishment was too harsh but any appeal now would only be bad for the sport,” a Honda spokesman said on Tuesday.
The FIA has since stated that it will be investigating the team’s comments to determine whether it could be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.
“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 F1 racing’ or ‘prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally’,” a FIA statement said.
The FIA has also come under a wave of criticism from five of the engine manufacturers, who want the FIA’s appeal court to be replaced with the independent Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In a statement, the FIA said: “The manufacturers concerned came into Formula One for their own reasons. They were not invited – they invited themselves – and each of them accepted the rules and structures of the sport as they had done on many occasions.”
The statement was issued after BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Renault and Honda had called for an “independent appeals process administered by an internationally recognised body” to settle disputes.
These manufacturers have been at odds with the sport’s ruling body and have threatened to launch a rival championship series if they are not granted greater control in the way that F1 is run.
Although the rebel manufacturers plan to lobbyfor changes to the FIA’s appeal process, they have agreed to a controversial engine proposal put forward by FIA president Max Mosley.
He has demanded a cut in the engine capacity to 2,4-litres. The five manufacturers have agreed to comply, provided the rule remains in place beyond 2007 to ensure stability.
“Beyond 2008, the manufacturers will jointly develop a new engine proposal for the sport,” the statement said.