Grapevine: Benetton Deny Having Failed Safety Tests

The Benetton team have denied the rumours published on Wednesday claiming they were one of the Formula One teams who are still to pass the mandatory FIA safety tests on their chassis.

Max Mosley, president of the sports' governing body, said on Tuesday that there were some teams who had failed to pass the new crash tests so far, but he was hopeful that they would before the first Grand Prix of the season on March 4.

Some reports suggested today that Benetton and BAR were amongst those teams, and it was speculated that they would be banned from the Australian Grand Prix if they didn't pass the tests.

However, Benetton issued a statement today, denying the reports, and confirmed they will race in Melbourne.

"Contrary to the reports in the media today, the Benetton team would like to clarify that not only did the B201 pass the side impact chassis crash test last week at the first attempt, but that all necessary crash tests have been passed," the statement said.

"The team is therefore fully prepared to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship that begins next weekend in Australia."