FIA continue to block Phoenix bid

An FIA spokesman in Malaysia said that their statement of March 12, denying the team a right to enter the 2002 world championship, was made in full knowledge of the letter sent to them by Phoenix and Prost GP liquidator Cosme Rogeau, and after consultation with lawyers acting for the French court.

The FIA have called into question the legal validity of the notification. Phoenix, however, are expected to press their claim through legal action.

Both Bridgestone and Michelin, meanwhile, have denied that any request has been made to supply tyres to Phoenix. The F1 regulations demand that a tyre supplier should be prepared to supply 60 percent of the F1 field if called upon to do so, but both companies denied in Malaysia that an approach had been made.

Michelin's Pierre Dupasquier said: "The question has not been asked. We couldn't supply another team anyway. We had the capacity but as soon as we knew that we had a team that was not going to participate, we redistributed that capacity. Maybe we could help six months from now."

Bridgestone's Hiroshi Yasukawa said that Bridgestone had not been asked to supply the team with tyres either: "At this moment it would be very difficult for us."