FIA Not a Party to BAR-Williams Dispute

The FIA will not get involved in the dispute between BAR and Williams over Jenson Button and will make no comment on the matter, the governing body said today.

BAR issued a press release earlier today stating that "the FIA Contract Recognition Board acknowledged, in writing, that, as of today, the BAR Contract with Jenson Button is the only valid contract registered for the 2005 season."

But both Williams and now the FIA have shot down BAR's allusion that the sport's governing body is somehow supportive of BAR's claims over Briton Button.

"The contract recognition board is an entirely independent body, set up under the terms of the concorde agreement," the FIA spokesman told Atlas F1, adding that "therefore, the FIA has no comment to make."

BAR's statement seemed to suggest that the Contract Recognition Board has ruled in the latest dispute in favour of the Brackley-based team. But, in fact, the CRB has not reviewed the legal case at all and, as Williams clarified later today, "The CRB have not endorsed the validity of [BAR's claim], but have simply confirmed receipt of BAR's documentation."

The Contract Recognition Board was founded in 1992 under schedule 11 of the Concorde Agreement between the Formula One teams, FOM and the FIA. The body acts as a registration establishment for all contracts between teams and drivers but does not reveal to the FIA what are considered highly confidential papers. Rather, the CRB only reports to the FIA that a driver who was entered by a team for a Formula One World Championship event has a contract with that team.

The CRB can also act as an arbitration body in cases of disputes over drivers' contracts, offering expedited judgement. However, the CRB can effectively only affirm whether a binding contract has been breached or not and in some cases may even defer the final judgement to external legal authorities.