Arbitration Aimed at Clarifying Rules, Says Dennis

Leading Formula One teams plan to go to arbitration over television money awarded to back-of-the-grid Minardi, McLaren boss Ron Dennis said today.

Dennis said the move, by McLaren, Williams, Jordan and British American Racing, was meant as an attempt to clarify the rules rather than a personal attack on Minardi boss Paul Stoddart.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone paid Minardi television revenues originally earmarked for the now defunct Prost team earlier in the season after a prolonged campaign by Stoddart for the funds. Prost finished ninth last season while Minardi were 11th and last. Only the top 10 teams get television money.

The Minardi boss said he had agreed, as a condition of payment, to indemnify Ecclestone with interest if a court of arbitration subsequently ruled that he was not entitled to the Prost money.

Stoddart warned that any action could force his struggling team out of Formula One because he could not afford the $2 million needed to fight his case. Dennis said he wanted to clarify the regulations in the secret Concorde Agreement, which governs the sport.

"Nothing has been brought against Paul," Dennis said in an interview with Sky television. "The fact is that there is ambiguity in the regulations regarding fiscal distribution, not only affecting this year but also other years and other teams. This process is only seeking clarity and is not asking for the money back.

"An arbitration process is laid down in the rules and, as no-one could agree on the matter earlier in the year, is the only way of sorting the issue out. We wish to understand a set of regulations contained in the Concorde Agreement. Paul is caught up in that process but it is not personal. We had the opportunity to sort it out in Austria but this was not taken up.

"He has had the benefit of running this season but we need to sort the situation out before next year."