No-holds barred warning for Button bosses

FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, have warned BAR to accept their two-race ban gracefully or face further punishment.

BAR-Honda were given the suspension after Jenson Button’s car was found to be underweight following the San Marino Grand Prix.

They reacted angrily, first promising to fight the decision of the FIA’s International Court of Appeal before withdrawing that threat and criticising the severity of the penalty.

Now the FIA have claimed they are looking at BAR’s comments to see if they can be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.

A statement said: “Statements attributed to the management of BAR-Honda are currently under investigation in the light of the team’s obligation to do nothing ‘prejudicial to the image and dignity of Formula One racing’ or ‘prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally’.”

The FIA have also batted off critcism of their appeals court, which five of the Formula One engine manufacturers want replaced by the independent Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The statement added: “The manufacturers concerned came into Formula One for their own reasons. They were not invited – they invited themselves. Each of them accepted the rules and structures of the sport as they had done on many previous occasions.”