Late reprieve for Belgian GP?

Conflicting information about the withdrawal of the Belgian GP from the F1 calendar has the teams holding on to hotel and flight bookings and further lodging of court actions, while the FIA claims that the vote to cancel is simply non-negotiable. The issue being imminently lodged at the European Court of Justice, by local Belgian business interests, will question the right of the FIA to involve itself at all in commercial rather than regulatory issues.

Mar 26, 2003, 3:11 PM

If the action is successful, reports AUTOSPORT magazine, it cannot be appealed against and could force the FIA to reinstate the event. In response the FIA says that in as much as the decision to pull out was voted for unanimously by the teams, it cannot be overturned.

Some F1 insiders have expressed doubts over the longer term reults of the governing body's hardline stance on the European commission's July 2005 tobacco advertising ban. With five teams in the series not currently carrying tobacco sponsorship, the fear is that non-tobacco interests might be put off as the FIA considers dropping other European races from the calendar over the issue.

Interestingly, the accelerated deadline - which caused the Belgian GP to be dropped in the first place - has not stopped £1m worth of work from going on at the circuit, in line with F1 racing requirements.