Disqualified Gardel could lose title

The Swiss driver's fourth place finish in Sakhir was enough to capture the drivers' crown, but in post-race checks the car did not have enough fuel to meet the regulations.

It took race stewards a mammoth six hours to decide to exclude the car from the results, but the team immediately appealed.

By the time the decision was made, Gardel was already on a plane on his way home and was therefore unavailable for comment. However teammate Pedro Lamy admitted that the fuel problem could have surfaced because of the two-stop strategy that the team opted to take.

"The race was difficult for everyone today," said the Portuguese driver. "We had more weight in the car, which made a big difference, and because of our strategy of only two stops we were always trying to save fuel as well as stay ahead. I thought we would be okay, but it seems it wasn't quite enough."

If Larbre's appeal fails then it will hand the FIA title to Michael Bartels and Timo Scheider.