F1 Teams Threaten European Race Boycott
Monday January 19th, 2004
By Alan Baldwin
Formula One team bosses have threatened not to race in Europe unless exempted from new community-wide arrest warrants that could be used against them if a driver is killed on the track.
A senior source at the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said on Monday that a letter had been sent to the presidents of the sporting bodies in European countries hosting races.
It said immediate action was needed in Belgium, Britain and Spain, where the warrants have already been implemented.
A copy of the document, sent by FIA president Max Mosley and seen by Reuters, said the teams had expressed extreme concern at a meeting in London last Friday over the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).
They warned that they were only prepared to race in countries whose governments gave a legally enforceable undertaking not to use the procedure in connection with Formula One race incidents.
"The teams say they require the above undertaking if they are to race within the jurisdiction of any of these three countries," the letter said.
The warrant, introduced on January 1, replaces national extradition deals between EU member states with a fast-track procedure. Formula One's last race fatality was in 1994 when Brazilian World Champion Ayrton Senna died at Imola in the San Marino Grand Prix.
Williams technical director Patrick Head and team designer Adrian Newey, now technical director at McLaren, were told last year that they must face a new appeal court hearing into Senna's accident.
Both men were acquitted of manslaughter after a trial in Bologna in 1997. The verdict was upheld on appeal in 1999.
Team bosses have warned repeatedly that they might not race in Italy, which hosts two races on the current calendar, if they risk conviction under Italian law for race accidents. Eight EU member states have implemented the warrant - Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal and Britain.
The seven remaining EU members - including race hosts Germany, France and Italy - have pledged to implement the legislation by March.
The letter said teams feared that a local magistrate could use the EAW to order the arrest and extradition of team personnel from their home country. They added they did not object to existing extradition procedures.
"In view of the potential effect of this development on the Formula One world championship, would you please take this matter up urgently with the relevant authorities in your country and inform the race promoter," the letter concluded.
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