BAR have been punished..
They will have a 2 race ban starting this weekend at the Spanish GP after being found guilty of being neglegant in their interpretation of the FIA rules.
At the time the stewards accepted BAR’s explanation that the compartment, the legality of which was not questioned, was a collector tank which always held a minimal amount of fuel necessary for the car to function, meaning it would have been above the minimum weight throughout the race.
However, the FIA contested the stewards’ decision and the International Court of Appeal decided that while it could not find BAR to have intentionally cheated, the team’s interpretation of the rules was flawed and they should have sought clarification.
The Court said that the only way the car could have met the 600kg requirement was by using fuel as ballast, which is not allowed under Formula One regulations.
It also stated that BAR’s fuel consumption data could not guarantee that the car complied with the rules at all times during the race, hence the team neglected their duty to satisfy the FIA technical delegate of its legality throughout the event.
BAR have also been given a further, suspended 6 month ban, which will start after the Monaco GP. |