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FIA Versus BAR: the Courtroom Drama

In the middle of the Paris courtroom, once the scene of Gestapo interrogations in WWII, stood the bone of contention between the FIA and BAR-Honda, awaiting to be exposed like a Pandora Box that will change the future of Formula One. As Technical Director Geoff Willis bickered with Technical Delegate Charlie Whiting, and while BAR's lawyer David Pannick cross-examined Jo Bauer, the now famous BAR007 fuel tank remained untouched and under covers. In the end, it turns out, Exhibit A was never really the issue. Jonathan Noble returned from Paris with the arguments and contentions made by both sides, in the matter of the FIA versus BAR

Jonathan Noble May 4, 2005, 12:22 PM

They walked, Reservoir Dogs style, into the FIA Headquarters at 8 Place de la Concorde with their heads held high and a confident swagger to their step. Yet behind the bullish smiles and declarations of confidence of what lay ahead, it was clear for every one of the dark-suited members of BAR present in Paris on Wednesday that this was a big deal.

For a team that has yet to win a Formula One Grand Prix, there was no hiding away from the fact that they simply cannot afford to lose this week's FIA Court of Appeal hearing into the legality of Jenson Button's BAR at the San Marino Grand Prix. Hence the nervous shuffling, the last-minute checking of documents and the hushed conversations as they waited to enter the court room.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.