Feature: Bailiffs Bring Back Old Memories

Formula One old-timers, reminiscing dreamily about the golden days of gentlemen racers and four-wheel drift, will always argue that the sport is not what it was.

They are right of course, but last weekend's French Grand Prix brought a reminder that some old ways live on despite the arrival of the major manufacturers and demise of most independent teams.

The sight of uniformed police and bailiffs in the Magny-Cours paddock to impound BAR's cars might have been more of an echo than a real blast from the past but it brought back a few memories of how things were.

It also showed how much the ground rules have changed.

Formula One and litigation go together like Monaco - which will retain its allure for as long as there is money in the banks - and millionaires.

"Things like that have always happened, again and again," said International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley as he visited the paddock after a local judge had released BAR's cars.

"I can remember back in the 70s people getting cars seized with a court order and then getting them released. It's happened a lot. I think it's happened a couple of times here, once I can remember in Belgium, I can remember it happening in Germany and I think in Austria once.

"It's getting a bit old-fashioned because inside the EU now there are all sorts of reciprocal enforcement acts that mean that sort of thing isn't necessary. But people still do it, I think because it's a way of drawing attention to their claim."

Mighty Manufacturers

It has been a few years since the bailiffs appeared at a Grand Prix, a reflection of the disappearance of small precariously funded teams.

BAR, owned by tobacco giant BAT with Honda as partners, clearly do not belong in the same world as the old hand-to-mouth brigade and team boss David Richards was quick to promise a counter-suit.

Others meanwhile sauntered down memory lane to the law's last visit in 1995. That time it was Minardi's turn, their cars and trucks impounded as part of a dispute over engines.

Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium has seen similar intervention, notably with Eddie Jordan in 1991 when he gave Michael Schumacher his debut.

"They had bolted up the garage doors and wouldn't unlock them unless we paid up," Jordan recalled years later.

"It was bad enough because Michael had to stay with us in a school dormitory for a fiver a night where eight of us shared the same lavatory. We were absolutely broke. He must have wondered what was going on."

Anyone standing in the Magny-Cours paddock with their back to the BAR motorhome at the weekend would have had a fine overview of Formula One's current legal battles.

To the left, Minardi - taking action against former Malaysian sponsors and chased for money by their former driver Alex Yoong. They are also threatening to protest against all their rivals at Silverstone next week.

To the right, Jordan - tied up in the London High Court in an action against Ferrari partners Vodafone over an alleged sponsorship agreement.

Out of sight, Williams and McLaren - both taking the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) to arbitration over the way in which rule changes were introduced this season.

Then you have Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, the banks and car manufacturers all trying to sort out Formula One's future with the threat of a rival series.

Head Banging

Ecclestone, able to reminisce about old times with former team owner Guy Ligier at the weekend, would clearly like to roll back the years to when he had tighter control of the sport.

"What is going on now has been happening for years but it used to be sorted out quietly between us," he told British newspapers last week.

"As soon as you see a lawyer he advises you to sue and tells you that you can't lose. In the good old days we stopped things before they got out of hand.

"When F1 had a dictator he could get people around a table to talk. They have forgotten that a good compromise is better than a court case."