BAR accepts minimum weight regulation

BAR said in a statement on May 12th that it now accepts the minimum weight of a car must be above 600kg when completely drained of fuel. The team had previously argued that some fuel in the car was "unusable" in a race due to its fuel system and believed, therefore, that the fuel in question did not have to be drained before the car was weighed.

The stewards at Imola found that Jenson Button's BAR complied with the minimum weight regulation after the race. They then requested that it be drained of all fuel and it was weighed again, and found to be underweight. No action was taken but the FIA appealed and BAR was subsequently stripped of its Imola points and banned for a further two races.

BAR had planned to try and overturn the penalty but then decided to take no further action. "Having investigated the matter fully, including making extensive enquiries of other teams, B·A·R Honda now accept that Formula One cars must always weigh more than 600kg when completely empty of fuel and that this applies even if the car's fuel system is such that some of the fuel in the car is unusable," said the statement.

"Before making these enquiries it was the team's honest belief that fuel which could not be used during the race did not have to be removed before the car was weighed."

"On this basis B·A·R Honda accept the decision of the FIA Court of Appeal as fair in the circumstances and recognise that the judges in this, as in other cases, are fully independent, being lawyers and professional judges of high standing who give their service on a voluntary basis."

"B·A·R Honda want nothing more than to compete with other teams in the Formula One World Championship on an entirely fair and equal basis and look forward to rejoining the competition at the European Grand Prix."