WilliamsF1 asks for clarification from FIA

After claims made by BMW WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya that Michael Schumacher should have been penalised for his driving tactics on the opening lap of the San Marino Grand Prix the BMW WilliamsF1 team requested a a clarification of the regulations regarding the issue of what is acceptable driving by one driver if another is attempting to pass him.

WilliamsF1 Technical Director Patrick Head explained the reason behind this. He said: "In these circumstances (team manager) Dickie Stanford would ask (FIA race director) Charlie Whiting for his opinion. Ferrari do this all the time. I am not as agitated, by any means, about this as Juan is, but then he was the guy in the cockpit. But we shall just have to see about it.

"We know you cannot move off the central line to take the very inside of the track but we need to know if a driver can go to the very outside edge. Michael had Juan on the outside of him and that is what he did."

In conjunction with this query the WilliamsF1 team also wanted further clarification of the incident that would see WilliamsF1 driver Ralf Schumacher and Renault's Fernando Alonso involved in a collision which would see Ralf spin and lose several places. This incident was investigated by the race stewards even though no action was taken against either driver.

On incident would see one driver attempt a pass on the outside while the other one driver would attempt a pass on the inside.

The FIA was to answer the WilliamsF1 teams query by saying that they could not find anything which they would view as been wrong in the incident that took place between Juan Pablo and Michael. Head was to come away feeling that the explanation given by the FIA representative was not satisfactory.

"The two incidents are different," said Head. "One was a car coming in the inside and the other was whether the driver on the inside left enough room for the car on the outside. But I really don't see a great deal of difference. If you are obliged to give room to a car on the inside in a corner, then I would have thought the same should apply to a car on the outside of you.

"The FIA don't seem to see it that way. Charlie Whiting did review it and his view is that Michael's manoeuvres were perfectly okay. We take that decision and we get on with trying to make our car go quicker rather than bleating on about the past."