The seven Michelin teams that faced a World Motor Sport Council hearing on
June 29th were found guilty of two of the five charges bought against them
in regard to the US Grand Prix, and cleared of the other three. However, the FIA has
delayed deciding any penalty until September 14th in order to
assess the efforts made to compensate the Indianapolis spectators and to ensure
such a situation will not happen again.
The teams -- Renault, Williams, McLaren, BAR, Toyota, Red Bull and Sauber --
were found guilty of failing to have suitable tyres for the US GP and of
wrongfully refusing to start the race. On the charges of refusing to race
with a speed limit through Turn 13, conspiring to make a demonstration and
failing to inform the stewards of their intentions they were
found not guilty.
"The World Motor Sport Council has decided to adjourn discussion of penalty
to an extraordinary meeting, when it will be seen what steps have been taken
to compensate the fans, and what steps have been taken by the Michelin teams
to make sure nothing like this ever happens again," said FIA President Max
Mosley.
"There were five charges against the teams. The first of these were to be
sure they were in possession of suitable tyres, and they were found guilty
of that, but with strongly mitigating circumstances. They were accused of
wrongfully refusing to start the race, found guilty of that."
"They were found not guilty of refusing to race subject to a speed limit,
because there was no plan in place. They have also been found not guilty of
conspiring to make a demonstration because they satisfied the World Council.
They were found not guilty of failing to tell the stewards."
Mosley would not say what penalty the teams might face come September but
indicated, in his personal opinion, that a deduction of points or race bans
would probably not be appropriate. He added that the main concern was to compensate the fans
and retain F1's position in America.
"The number one priority, from our point of view, was to secure compensation
for the fans in the States and to make it up to the people watching on
television," Mosley said. "Apart from that... it is very important that Formula One
retains its position in the United States."
"If we give them (the teams) a bit of time, we will know in September
what has been done. If a great deal has been done, the world council will take a lenient
view."
Michelin will not face any charges -- Mosley said the FIA has no contract
with the tyre company, only with the teams it supplies, and therefore cannot impose a penalty on
the French manufacturer. Michelin announced this week that it intends to refund ticket costs of
the US spectators and provide 20,000 tickets for 2006.
Six of the Michelin teams intend to appeal the two guilty charges. Red Bull
was not included in the joint statement released by the teams and is
reportedly considering its options.
Six teams to
appeal guilty charges
