Brawn Surprised by BAR's Mistake

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said on Saturday that he was surprised BAR-Honda had used a new electronic aid to help the performance of their cars when cornering at the German Grand Prix, after insisting such a device is already outlawed.

BAR were reprimanded by Formula One's governing body the FIA for running one of their cars illegally during Friday practice, although they did not use the aid during the qualifying sessions.

The FIA said the device connects the front wheels via the drive shafts and allows the team to control torque transfer from a faster wheel to a slower wheel under braking and that does not comply with the rules.

Brawn said the Ferrari, who have been pushed close by BAR on occasion this year, were not the ones who brought the system to the attention of the FIA, but he admitted being surprised BAR had gone ahead with it.

"Renault and Benetton had a system, which was a purely mechanical system, and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't," said Brawn. "In the end they abandoned it because of the inconsistency of the system.

"Everyone knew at the time that the best thing to do was to include electronics and hydraulics (to make it work) but the FIA told everyone who made that proposal that you couldn't do it.

"I guess Geoff (Willis, BAR's technical director) was not around in those days and he came up with a system that clearly contravened the clarifications that the FIA had given the teams a few years ago. We were a little bit shocked about it."