FIA Ready to Release Indy Evidence

Just hours after the FIA's World Motor Sport Council agreed to overturn the two guilty charges against the teams for bringing the sport into disrepute over the events at Indianapolis, Autosport-Atlas has learned that moves are being made to reveal exactly what changed the FIA's mind.

The secret evidence was given to the FIA by McLaren boss Ron Dennis and Red Bull Racing sporting director Christian Horner at a special meeting last week and convinced the FIA that the teams were not to blame for what happened.

And although Dennis said at Hockenheim on Friday that he was happy for the governing body to reveal exactly what the new evidence was, a spokesman for the FIA has said that it is reluctant to do so because of the manner in which it was submitted.

"The evidence was presented to the FIA Senate and World Motor Sport Council on a confidential basis," the FIA spokesman told Autosport-Atlas. "While we are happy for this evidence to be put into the public domain, we will be seeking permission for the teams first."

Dennis said he has no qualms about the evidence being made public, although he was keen for the sport to move on from the controversy.

When asked whether he would be happy to reveal the evidence, Dennis said: "Well, it's certainly not for the teams to make that available to you.

"If the FIA chooses to make it available that is for them to decide. Why? Well primarily because it was their ruling in the first place.

"We put forward what we believed to be two strong arguments as to why this judgement should effectively be reversed.

"The process on the day, of course, was between myself representing five of the teams and Red Bull representing itself and the decision was not taken and it could not be taken by the Senate. This was a decision that had to be taken by the World Council, and therefore there was a follow-on process.

"Coming out of that meeting, if you had asked me, and nobody had asked me, I feel that in all of these instances we should be looking forward and not going back into the past... If it was my decision, and it's not, I think the best thing is to go forward, but there is nothing untoward or controversial in the material that was presented to the Senate. But I don't think it's the team's position to provide that material to you."

When asked to give more details about the evidence, Dennis emphasised it was not his decision to do so and the final decision should be made by the FIA.

"It was a combination of new material but it was also a re-evaluating and focussing on some other specific issues that were part of the documentation.

"I would say that the teams had done a competent job at presenting their argument that had perhaps under-stressed one particular aspect of the situation and I would rather leave it there.

"But I for one and I think most of the teams would be more than comfortable and it is for the FIA to decide that."

There is speculation that part of the evidence submitted related to the team's contracts with tyre supplier Michelin, which prevented them racing if the French tyre manufacturer believed it was not safe. This is exactly what happened at Indianapolis.