Mosley elects not to attend race weekend

Mosley's no-show is not connected with either the war in Iraq or the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) scare worrying travellers in the region - factors which have caused one French national publication to send no representative, allegedly for the first time since the championship began.

Mosley said: "The local event for which I was coming was cancelled at the last moment. Also, I feel that what we need now is to get on with the racing. My presence at Sepang would be a distraction from what really counts on the track."

Mosley confirmed that there will be a review of F1's new rules and procedures after the Brazilian Grand Prix, but emphasised the importance of differentiating between the two.

"The team managers and technical directors will meet [FIA technical delegate] Charlie Whiting on April 9 to review the detailed workings of our procedures in the light of experience at the first three races," Mosley said. "We have invited the team principals to a meeting on 11 April to consider the outcome of Charlie's meeting and discuss whether any procedural changes appear necessary.

"The rules [single-lap qualifying, only one wet tyre, two dry tyres per team] - as opposed to procedures - cannot be changed during the season without unanimous agreement and I think most of the teams will feel we need more time to see the full effect. After all, they were only voted last October."