Drivers will not be penalised

The seven teams who failed to take part in the US Formula One Grand Prix face losing constructors' world championship points or punitive fines when they appear before the FIA world motorsport council next Wednesday.

Williams, McLaren, Renault, Sauber, Toyota, BAR-Honda and Red Bull are facing charges of committing "one or more acts prejudicial to a competition" after withdrawing from Sunday's race at Indianapolis, where they deemed it impossible to race on the Michelin tyres designated for the event.

Ferrari moved into joint second in the constructors' championship, level with McLaren and 13 points behind Renault, after Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello finished first and second in the race. Only six cars took part. Any such reduction would do huge damage to the championship ambitions of Renault and McLaren, as well as Williams and Toyota in joint fourth place.

The FIA believes it would not be fair to penalise the drivers as it believes they were as much "victims of the circumstances" as the race organisers. Schumacher and Barrichello were able to close the gap on the points leader, Fernando Alonso of Renault, and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen in second place.

In Indianapolis Joie Chitwood, president of the circuit, said any decision about the future of the race would be made in the best interests of the fans, the track and the community. Formula One is contracted for another race at the circuit in 2006.

"The decision is going to affect a lot of people. It's important that we understand our role in this and make some good decisions," he said.

Chitwood had intimated the organisers may sue Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial-rights holder, for the $13.5 million the event cost to stage.

Three lawsuits were filed by spectators on Monday. A class-action lawsuit arrived in the US District Court in Indianapolis on behalf of Larry Bowers, a Colorado resident who had five tickets and is seeking reimbursement plus travel expenses, reported the Indianapolis Star newspaper.

This action, like two others filed on Monday in Marion Superior Court, holds Formula One, the FIA, Michelin, the boycotting teams and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway responsible for not producing the sort of event advertised. The FIA has hinted the way out of the deadlock would be for the seven teams, plus Michelin, to reimburse the 160,000 spectators who attended the race, a gesture that would cost about $16 million.

It remains to be seen whether the teams and the tyre manufacturer are inclined to write cheques for $2 million apiece when they feel they are the aggrieved parties and made the decision to withdraw only for reasons of legal prudence, given Michelin had advised that the tyres were insufficiently durable.

Meanwhile, Michelin have assured promoters of the French Grand Prix there will be no problems with their tyres at the Magny-Cours track on July 3rd.

"We have received guarantees from Michelin that the technical problems they had at the US Grand Prix would not happen at Magny-Cours," the promoters of the French race said in a statement. The problems at Indianapolis were caused by the specific nature of that track, they added.